•^TiT^: 


•>>JWJ?^^^:$\ 


-^^v^.^yi^^. 


^ «  *v<-.- 


ilM*< 


■''  ? 


<'>h'. 


'>;-w 


5/^^^., 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


% 


Division ]^ 

^.?r/2^« OC..../  l..-^ 

Number 


*'  ■ ; 

<  ^ ' 

1^:  ' 

.,  -.  . 

hi 

•* 

H  '^'.'- ; 

►_, 

•'.i,. 

'■i^'r 

1 

fej 

:^-- 

■^C-^' 

^ 

'^ 

.-vJ!; 

ML'v, ' 

■ ': 

-I'l 

■Ki ' 

,>- 

V" 

K' 

"^' 

Ti-^y 


?.{;.'  ■^■^'    -^ 


■'A 


THOUGHT-HIVES. 


BOOKS 

BY  THE 

EEV.  THEODOEE  L.   CUYLEK. 


THE   EMPTY   CRIB  :  A  Book  of  Consolation. 

24mo,  grit.    $1.00. 

"  This  beautiful  volume  will  find  a  welcome  in  many  a  household  in  which 
lored  ones,  touched  by  '  God's  Finger,'  hare  fallen  asleep."  —  Independent. 

",Those  who  hare  loTed  and  lost  little  ones  will  find  in  this  touching  memo- 
rial many  a  rich  spring  of  consolation." —  S.  S.  Times. 

"  It  is  an  offering  of  the  heart's  best  affections,  and  is  fragrant  with  the 
gracee  of  the  Christian  nursery."  — iV.  W.  Presbyterian. 

u. 

THE   CEDAR   CHRISTIAN. 

16mo.    90  cents. 

"  Many  of  these  papers  are  intense ;  they  are  all  clear  and  forcible ;  and  some 
of  them  are  replete  with  that  grace  which  comes  of  fervor,  —  that  soft  and  mel- 
low  light  which  the  fancy  throws  around  what  the  heart  sees  as  well  as  the  eyes  " 
Union. 

ni. 
STRAY    ARROWS. 

18mo.    60  cents. 
Sent  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  on  receipt  of  the  price* 


ROBERT  CARTER  ANT)  BROTHERS, 

New  York. 


Thought-Hives. 


BY 

THEODORE  L.  CUYLER, 

PASTOR     OF     LAFAYETTE     AVENUE     CHURCH,    BROOKLYN. 


NEW     YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    AND    BROTHERS, 

S30  Broadway. 

1883. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  bj 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


University  Press: 
John  Wilson  &  Son,  Cambridge. 


.A 


PE.A    Ai     K.' 

BEG.  JAMi,„. 

TEEOLOGIG& 

CONTENTS. 


PAOS 

Thought-Hives 7 

The  Soul  First 14 

The  Great  Choice 20 

Deceitfulness  of  Sin 28 

Paying  the  Fare 36 

To  Jesus  —  at  Once 42 

♦♦Sin  no  More" 49 

Hymns  of  Homage  to  Christ 66 

Giving  up  —  for  Christ 63 

The  Grace  that  Pinches 68 

The  Rich  Soul 73 

The  Honest  Disciple 94 

The  Father  of  English  Hymns 101 

Brains,  and  How  to  Use  Them 108 

Sins  of  the  Tongue 128 

Who  Kindled  the  Fire 135 

Christ  Cleansing  the  Heart-Temple 143 

Wedded  for  Heaven 151 

Like  Father,  Like  Family 159 

Wrestling  Prayer 165 

Great  Expectations  from  God 171 

Hysins  of  Longing  for  Rest 178 

Sunshiny  Christians               185 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAQB 

The  Bitter  Waters  Sweetened 192 

The  Great  Hymn  of  Providence 199 

Christ  in  the  Night-Storm 206 

The  Jewels  in  the  Cup 214 

Where  is  Your  Place 218 

Christ  a  Servant 224 

Day  of  Small  Things 231 

The  Successful  Pastor 236 

Plaint  of  a  Minister's  Door-Bell 243 

Strengthening  a  Pastor's  Hands 250 

Twenty-Five  Years  in  the  Pulpit 256 

The  Working  Temperance  Church 263 

Digging  for  Water 272 

The  Shepherd's  Sling 279 

Heber  and  his  HyxMn 296 

Nothing  but  Leaves 302 

Hymns  of  Our  Own  Land 309 

Before  the  Judgment  Seat 319 

Higher 326 

A  Sabbath  Morning  in  Greenwood 333 

A  Song  of  Peace 840 


f<; 


^Aii^ 


^)j\    X  xX  Jli.  vj.  .ij  -yj  Kj:  X  u  . 

THOUGHT-HIYES. 


TIj^VEEY  human  mind  we  meet  is  a  moving 
thought-hive.  To  our  eye  it  is  hidden ; 
but  to  the  eye  of  God  it  is  a  hive  of  trans- 
parent glass.  For  there  is  not  a  thought  in 
our  hearts,  but  lo !  O  Lord,  thou  knowest  it 
altogether.  The  thoughts  which  nestle  within 
us,  and  issue  from  us  in  language  and  in  act, 
determine  our  moral  character.  "As  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  "  Keep  thy 
heart  with  all  diligence ;  for  out  of  it  are  the 
issues  of  life." 

The  most  exquisite  piece  of  sculptrtre  which 
a  Powers  or  a  Palmer  ever  carved  was  once 
only  a  thought ;  but  their  skilful  hands  smote 
the  white  marble  until  the  beautiful  images  of 
the  brain  came  forth.     Upon  the  thought  of 


8  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

James  Watt  and  Eobert  Fulton  we  cross  the 
trackless  sea ;  while  in  its  silent  depths  the 
thought  of  Professor  Morse  has  laid  the  magic 
wire  over  which  two  continents  converse.  All 
the  grandest  enterprises  of  benevolence  and 
all  the  most  stupendous  crimes  were  once  only 
invisible  phantoms  in  some  man's  or  woman's 
busy  brain.  The  Order  of  the  Jesuits  swarmed 
out  of  Ignatius  Loyola's  heart-hive ;  Sunday 
Schools  swarmed  out  of  Robert  Raikes'.  If 
the  jailer  of  Bedford  prison  had  starved  John 
Bunyan,  he  would  have  smothered  the  "  Pil- 
grim's Progress  "  in  its  cradle.  The  very  Bible 
is  only  God's  blessed  and  holy  thought  revealed 
to  us :  by  it  we  are  made  wise  unto  salvation. 
A  person  is  known  by  the  company  he 
keeps.  So  the  thoughts  which  we  harbor 
within  us,  and  which  go  out  through  the  doors 
of  our  mouths  and  our  hands,  determine  our 
real  character.  A  holy  man  gives  house-room 
only  to  pure  and  godly  thoughts ;  and  he  is 
constantly  striving  to  bar  up  door  and  window 
against  wicked  intruders.  Out  of  the  treasure- 
house  within  him  proceed  aU  the  white -winged 


THOUGHT-HIVES.  9 

words  and  all  the  beautiful  deeds  that  are  a 
blessing  unto  others. 

Habitual  thinking  determines  whether  an 
individual  is  either  Christ's  or  Satan's.  As  he 
thinketh,  so  is  he.  A  sensualist  is  only  a  filthy 
thinker.  The  walls  of  his  mind  are  hung 
around  with  lascivious  pictures :  his'  inmost 
soul  is  a  brothel.  Do  a  man's  thoughts  run 
every  day  upon  the  bottle]  Then  he  is  a 
tippler  or  a  sot.  Does  another  man's  thought 
hive  send  out  its  winged  messengers  con- 
tinually to  gather  honey  from  God's  Word  and 
His  outlying  world  of  Nature  ?  Then  is  he  a 
devout  and  happy  being.  In  such  an  one  God 
dwelleth  by  His  Spirit. 

One  of  the  highest  of  spiritual  luxuries  is 
the  enjoyment  of  pure  and  exhilarating  and 
sublime  thoughts  :  to  such  a  devout  and  cheer- 
ful thinker  a  prison  may  be  a  palace.  "  I 
thought  of  Jesus,"  said  holy  Eutherford,  "  until 
every  stone  in  the  walls  of  my  cell  shone  like 
a  ruby."  Wherefore  let  us  keep  our  hearts, 
our  thought-hives,  with  all  prayer  and  watch- 
fulness ;  for  out  of  them  are  the  issues  of  our 


10  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

life.  And  no  one  can  handle  the  pitch  of  a 
wicked,  obscene,  or  abominable  thought  for  any 
considerable  time  without  being  defiled  thereby. 
There  is  no  greater  torment  than  to  be  an 
unclean  or  intensely  selfish  or  corrupt  thinker. 
This  is  a  genuine  demoniac  possession.  Such 
an  one  is  "  grievously  vexed  with  a  devil." 
To  go  through  some  people's  hearts  would  be 
like  a  walk  through  Sing- Sing  penitentiary. 
Every  room  has  a  rascal  in  it.  Out  of  such 
hearts  proceed  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  thefts,  covetousness,  pride, 
blasphemy.  What  a  hell  in  advance  to  be 
living  in  such  a  habitation  of  the  devil !  To 
he  such  a  man  or  woman  for  ever  is  the  ever 
lasting  punishment  of  the  lost. 

All  thoughts  have  their  germs.  The  surest 
way  to  kill  a  sin  is  to  kill  it  in  the  egg.  At 
the  very  moment  when  a  wicked  thought  is 
born  is  the  right  time  to  destroy  it.  These 
little  serpents  soon  become  the  anacondas  that 
strangle  conscience  and  ruin  character.  How 
important,  too,  is  the  nursing  into  active  life 
and  vigor  of  every  good  suggestion  and  holy 


THOUGHT-HIVES.  11 

aspiration !  A  noble  career  depends  on  the 
treatment  given  to  the  infant  ideas  that  are 
born  in  the  soul.  The  best  of  these  are  the 
direct  product  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  To  quench 
a  good  thought  is  often  a  quenching  of  the 
Spirit ;  and  the  eternal  damnation  of  millions 
has  been  the  result  of  this  sin  against  the 
infinite  Love. 

Christ  is  the  purifier  of  the  heart.  He  who 
walks  in  constant  fellowship  with  Jesus  hath 
the  clean  heart  and  the  holy  life.  And  an 
active,  prayerful,  loving  mind,  teeming  with 
busy  plans  of  usefulness  and  swarming  out 
into  deeds  of  daily  beneficence,  is  a  hive  of 
blessings,  not  only  to  its  possessor,  but  to  all 
who  partake  of  its  stores  of  honey. 

Such  is  the  vital  importance  of  pure  and 
inspiring  thoughts.  And  if  the  following  pages 
shall  awaken  in  any  minds  such  thoughts  and 
induce  any  to  crystallize  them  into  good  deeds, 
then  the  author  will  not  have  written  in  vain. 
This  volume  begins  with  the  beginnings  of  a 
true  life.     It  places  the  soul  first,  and  Jesus 


12  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Christ  as  the  first  necessity  of  the  soul  in  the 
divine  method  of  salvation.  The  duties  of  the 
seeker  after  salvation  are  made  plain  at  the  out- 
set. The  momentous  question,  "  What  must  I 
do  to  be  saved  1 "  is  answered  with  as  condensed 
brevity  and  as  clear  simplicity  as  we  could 
command.  To  these  words  of  early  guidance 
follow  several  chapters  of  practical  counsel  for 
the  Christian  life.  To  adapt  doctrine  to  duty 
in  the  daily  conduct  must  be  the  highest  aim 
of  all  faithful  teaching  from  the  pulpit  or  the 
press,  by  the  tongue  or  by  the  pen. 

A  few  leaves  from  our  pastoral  experience 
are  in  this  volume.  With  these  are  inter- 
woven some  words  of  exhortation  to  Christian 
laymen,  who  ought  to  be  our  "  true  yoke- 
fellows" and  helpers  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
Master.  Household  piety  has  not  been  over- 
looked ;  nor  the  claims  of  the  tempted  at 
home,  or  the  benighted  in  heathen  lands.  We 
have  striven  to  bring  a  word  of  heavenly  con- 
solation to  the  wide  and  ever-widening  circle 
of  "  them  that  mourn."  We  have  endeav- 
ored to  teach  the  children  of  sorrow  how  to 


THOUGHT-HIVES.  13 

"  suck  honey  out  of  the  rock,  and  oil  out  of 
the  flinty  rock."  With  these  pages  of  practi- 
cal counsel  have  been  blended  a  few  sketches 
and  biographies  of  those  hymns  that  are  ap- 
propriate to  the  heart-experiences  set  forth. 
The  gospel  of  Jesus  is  not  only  a  light  unto 
our  path,  but  "  our  song  in  the  house  of  our 
pilgrimage." 

If  this  humble  work  shall  prove  to  be  a 
hive  of  happy  or  holy  thoughts  to  any  fellow- 
pilgrim,  then  shall  the  highest  aspirations  of 
its  author  be  more  than  satisfied.  May  the 
Lord  make  this  book  like  unto  that  "roll" 
which  the  ancient  prophet  ate,  and  which  was 
"  in  his  mouth  as  honey  for  sweetness  "  ! 


THE  SOUL  FIEST. 


TF  you  have  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  a  mail- 
steamer,  you  may  have  observed  how 
ready  the  captain  was  to  come  into  the  cabin 
on  a  quiet  evening,  and  to  minister  to  the 
pleasure  of  his  passengers.  But  if  you  were 
suddenly  to  hear  the  loud  tramp  of  hurrying 
feet  across  the  deck  overhead,  and  the  hoarse 
brattling  of  the  first  mate's  trumpet  to  "  haul 
in  the  jib,"  and  "  close- reef  the  top-sails," 
would  you  dare  to  invite  the  captain  to  a 
game  of  chess,  or  to  listen  to  an  operatic  airl 
No !  The  sturdy  seaman  would  reply,  "  In  an 
hour  the  hurricane  may  send  two  hundred 
souls  to  the  bottom,  if  every  thing  isn't  made 
fast.  I  can't  play  with  you  while  the  gale  is 
playing  with  my  ship." 

My  unconverted  friend,  when  your  soul  is 
saved  you  may  talk  about  the  price  of  gold, 


THE    SOUL    FIRST.  15 

or  the  ten  per  cent  that  offers  to  you  in  some 
new  speculation,  or  the  latest  discoveries  in 
the  gold  regions.  Until  then,  your  real  hiisi- 
ness  must  be  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come, 
and  to  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.  What  shall  a 
man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul? 

"When  your  soul  is  saved,  you  may  talk 
about  building  the  new  house,  or  adorning  the 
present  one  with  pictures  and  Parisian  uphol- 
steries ;  you  may  then  discuss  the  new  library, 
or  the  grand  tour,  or  the  series  of  evening 
entertainments  for  your  friends.  We  do  not 
denounce  fine  dwellings,  or  paintings,  or  Pa- 
rians, or  superb  libraries,  or  foreign  tours  :  all 
these  things  are  to  be  settled  by  extent  of 
purse,  and  the  ability  to  possess  them  without 
robbing  God  or  the  claims  of  charity.  What 
we  insist  is,  that  no  one  has  any  right  even  to 
think  of  such  things  while  the  soul  is  yet 
under  the  condemnation  of  unpardoned  sin. 
What  right  have  you  to  be  planning  a  house 
when  you  have  never  thought  of  your  soul's 
dwelling-place  through  an  endless  eternity? 
Why  insur'^;  your  property  before  you  have 


16  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

insured  your  soul]  Why  so  anxious  about 
getting  into  "good  society"  for  a  dozen  or  two 
of  years  on  earth,  and  yet  not  a  moment's 
thought  about  your  soul's  everlasting  compan- 
ions'?  Why  so  ready  to  prepare  for  every 
thing  else  except  to  prepare  to  die  1 

The  simple  reason  is,  that  you  make  this 
world  every  thing  and  eternity  nothing.  You 
do  not  expect  to  take  up  your  abode  in  hell 
but  the  business  of  securing  heaven  you  pro- 
pose to  set  about  when  you  have  nothing  else 
to  do.  At  present  your  whole  heart  is 
drowned  in  money-making,  or  in  pleasure- 
seeking,  or  in  getting,  keeping,  and  enjoying 
what  your  heart  most  covets.  If  I  come  to 
you,  Mr.  A — ,  in  your  counting-room,  and 
whisper  that  God  has  a  claim  upon  your  soul ; 
if  I  come  to  you,  young  Mr.  B — ,  in  your 
study ;  or  to  you,  Madame  C — ,  with  your 
bundle  of  invitations  for  a  daughter's  fete 
beside  you,  —  the  prompt  answer  is,  "Please 
don't  interrupt  me.  I  am  busy."  True 
enough :  you  are  busy.  So  was  Daniel  busy ; 
but  he  found  time  to  pray  thrice  a  day,  and  he 


THE    SOUL    FIRST.  17 

served  God  in  eveiy  thing  lie  did.  You  are 
busy ;  but  so  was  Wilberforce,  who  did  five 
men's  work  at  once,  and  honored  God  in 
every  act.  You  are  busy,  but  only  busy 
in  the  service  of  self  and  sin :  if  not  a 
Christian,  you  are  not  busy  in  serving  God. 
You  do  not  fancy  an  interruption  by  one  who 
longs  to  draw  your  soul  to  Christ.  Well,  my 
friend,  death  will  interrupt  you,  one  of  these 
days.  He  will  not  stop  to  knock  at  the  door 
of  your  counting-room,  or  your  new  library. 
He  will  not  wait,  perhaps,  till  the  daughters 
fete  has  passed  off.  He  will  come  when  God 
sends  him,  and  in  that  moment  thy  soul  will 
be  required  of  thee. 

When  Nehemiah  was  urged  to  quit  the 
rebuilding  of  Jerusalem,  and  go  down  to  a 
parley  with  his  enemies  on  the  plain  of  Ono, 
he  replied  manfully,  "  I  am  doing  a  great 
work,  so  that  I  cannot  come  down  to  you." 
Nehemiah  was  successful,  because  single- 
hearted.  And  so  must  you  be,  if  you  ever 
save  your  soul  and  serve  your  God.  You 
must  say  to  the  world,  when  it  clamors  for 


18  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

your  time,  "  I  am  doing  a  great  work.  I  am 
seeking  the  pardon  of  my  sins.  I  am  settling 
the  question  of  my  everlasting  destiny.  God 
is  calling  me,  and  I  am  finding  my  way  to 
him.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  striving  with  me ; 
and,  if  I  grieve  him  away,  he  may  leave  me  to 
die  as  callous  as  a  rock.  I  have  never  yet 
prepared  to  live,  much  less  to  die ;  and  I  am 
determined  not  to  give  my  attention  to  any 
thing  under  the  sun,  until  I  have  given  my 
heart  to   Christ." 

An  earnest,  resolute  setting  about  the  work 
of  repentance,  and  of  seeking  God,  seldom 
fails.  Where  God's  help  is  invoked,  and 
where  the  aim  of  the  seeking  heart  is  to 
please  God,  it  never  fails.  God  is  nigh 
to  them  who  call  upon  him  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  "  Ye  shall  seek  me  and  find  me,"  he 
says,  "  when  ye  seek  for  me  with  all  the 
heart."  He  demands  the  heart.  He  de- 
mands the  first  place  in  that  heart.  He 
demands  that  his  will  be  made  the  rule  of 
your  life.  He  demands  that  you  be  ready  to 
deny   self   for   his   sake.     He   demands   that 


THE    SOUL    FIRST.  19 

you  serve  him  to  your  dying  hour  from  prin- 
ciple. He  offers  to  you  sustaining  grace  and 
an  everlasting  heaven. 

This  is  a  great  work,  you  confess ;  "  but 
how  shall  I  accomplish  it?"  God's  answer  is, 
*'  Work  out  youiL^^alyation  i  for  it  is  God  that 
worketh  in  you."  ''  My  grace  is  sufficient 
for  you."  Yes,  it  is  a  great  work ;  but  Christ 
has  done  a  greater,  —  he  has  died  to  make 
your  salvation  possible.  It  will  be  certain, 
when  you  give  your  heart  to  him.  And  when 
you  so  desire  to  be  a  Christian  that  you  are 
willing  to  take  up  any  cross  and  follow  Jesus, 
when  you  so  desire  to  be  saved  that  you  are 
willing  to  pray  for  it,  and  not  only  pray,  but 
give  up  your  favorite  sins,  and  not  only  for- 
sake sin,  but  to  embrace  the  Saviour,  then  the 
work  is  done,  and  you  have  a  right  to  all 
the  glorious  privileges  of  a  child  of  God.  If 
a  child,  then  an  heir,  —  a  joint-heir  to  heaven's 
inheritance.  The  soul  must  he  first!  And 
Christ  first  in  the  soul!  Then  "all's  well" 
for  time  and  eternity. 


THE   GEEAT   CHOICE. 


A  LLOW  me  the  privilege  of  addressing  a 
few  plain,  affectionate  words  to  one 
who  is  yet  without  a  hope  in  Christ.  I  ad- 
dress you,  my  friend,  as  the  possessor  of  an 
immortal  soul.  In  the  language  in  which 
Moses  addressed  Israel  before  he  went  up  to 
his  mountain  death-bed,  "  I  set  before  you  life 
and  death :  choose  life  !  "  Every  one  has  the 
power  of  choice.  God  made  you  a  free  moral 
agent.  The  very  fact  that  you  are  now  read- 
ing these  lines  proves  that  you  have  the  power 
of  choice.  Every  Christian  in  the  world  is  a 
Christian  simply  because  he  accepted  Christ 
when  He  was  offered.  Every  impenitent  sin- 
ner is  yet  one  because  he  chooses  to  he. 
There  is  no  decree  of  the  Almighty  which 
forbids  your  having  eternal  life,  if  you  desire 


THE    GREAT    CHOICE.  21 

to  secure  it  Perhaps  you  cavil  at  "  God's 
decrees"  Just  look  at  this  one :  "  He  that 
belie veth  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be 
saved."  Or  at  this  one :  "  As  I  live,  saith  the 
Lord,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked."  Or  at  this  one  :  "  Whosoever  cometh 
to  me  I  wiU  in  no  wise  cast  out."  God's  im- 
mutable decrees,  in  fact,  secure  salvation  to 
every  penitent  believer  and  follower  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

When  Joshua  submitted  the  great  alterna- 
tive, "  Choose  ye  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve," 
he  addressed  his  auditors  as  free  agents. 
When  Christ  said  to  Andrew  and  James  and 
John,  "  Follow  me,"  he  talked  to  them  as 
rational  beings,  who  had  the  power  of  choice. 
If  they  could  not  "follow"  him,  why  did  he 
ask  theml  When  Simon  Peter  stood  up 
before  the  mass-meeting  in  Jerusalem,  and 
exclaimed,  "  Repent,  and  be  baptized  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins, 
and  ye  shall  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,"  he  ad- 
dressed them  as  free  agents ;  and  three  thou- 
sand of  them  accepted  the  Divine  Saviour. 


22  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

If  you  ask  me  what  is  meant  in  the  Bible 
by  "  life^'  I  would  answer :  It  is  the  favor  of 
God ;  it  is  the  pardon  of  your  sins ;  it  is  the 
sustaining  strength  to  do  right ;  it  is  a  union 
of  heart  to  Jesus ;  it  is  a  divine  support  in 
the  last  hour,  and  everlasting  holiness  and  joy 
beyond  the  grave.  '^ Death''  is  the  opposite 
of  life :  it  is  the  absence  of  life.  Spiritual 
death  is  the  unbroken  dominion  of  sin  in  this 
world,  and  the  unending  punishment  of  sin  in 
the  world  to  come.  In  this  world  the  God  of 
mercy  says  to  every  one,  "I  set  before  you 
life  and  death:  choose  life''  In  the  next 
world,  the  divine  and  all-righteous  Judge  will 
say  to  those  who  choose  life,  "  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father ;  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you."  To  those  who  choose 
death  he  will  say,  "  Depart,  ye  cursed ! "  and 
they  "  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment." 

But  you  may  say,  "  I  do  not  choose  death. 
It  is  impossible  that  any  sane  person  should 
deliberately  choose  to  be  eternally  wretched, 
when  he  might  be   eternally  happy."     This 


THE    GREAT    CHOICE.  23 

seems  very  plausible,  and  there  is  a  sense  in 

which  it  is  true.     Men  do  not  commonly  select 

wretchedness  and   ruin  as   the   end  of  then* 

voluntary  endeavors.     They  do  not  set  success 

and  happiness  on  the  one  hand  and  ruin  on 

the    other,    and    then    calmly   choose  to    be 

ruined.     Yet  it  is  equally  tiMie  that  men  are 

« 
continually   selecting   and    pursuing    courses 

that  inevitably  lead  to  ruin. 

Here  is  a  young  man  setting  out  in  life. 
Of  course,  his  preference  is  to  become  rich 
and  prosperous.  But  he  chooses  also  to  lead 
a  career  of  indolence  and  thriftlessness,  which 
inevitably  brings  him  to  poverty,  and  keeps 
him  there.  His  poverty  is  the  fruit  of  Ms 
own  conduct.  Again,  no  man  voluntarily 
chooses  the  disgrace  and  disease  and  horrors  of 
drunkenness.  But  thousands,  alas !  do  choose 
to  tamper  with  the  wine-glass  and  the  brandy- 
bottle,  and  their  own  free  choice  brings  them 
surely  to  the  drunkard's  self-damnation.  Did 
that  poor  girl  who  gave  her  heart  and  hand 
to  the  showy  vagabond  who  stole  her  affec- 
tions   choose    to   become   a   wretched   wife  ? 


24  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Yet  she  did  choose  to  marry  him;  she  did 
it  in  spite  of  reason  and  conscience,  and 
dearly  does  she  pay  the  consequences  of  her 
choice. 

In  the  same  manner,  my  impenitent  friend, 
when  you  decide  to  reject  the  knocking  Sav- 
iour from  your  heart,  you  do  choose  to  risk 
the  awful  consequences.  When  you  choose 
to  live  on  in  sin,  to  follow  the  devices  and 
desires  of  your  own  lusts,  and  to  grieve  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  love,  you  deliberately  choose 
everlasting  death.  You  choose  the  road  that 
leads  to  death.  If  you  are  lost,  it  will  be 
your  own  fault.  It  will  not  be  your  heavenly 
Father  s  fault :  he  says  to  you,  "  Choose  life  ! " 
It  will  not  be  the  loving  Saviour's  fault :  he 
says  to  you,  "Look  unto  me,  and  live  !  "  It  is 
not  the  fault  of  that  patient  Spirit  of  truth, 
who  is  now  pleading  with  you  to  renounce 
sin  and  accept  the  atonement  offered  to  you 
in  the  gospel. 

It  is  a  delightful  thought  that  your  encour- 
agements to  seek  life  are  so  abundant.  The 
word  of  God  overflows  with  encouragements. 


THE    GREAT    CHOICE.  25 

You  may  grow  discouraged  in  seeking  wealth, 
or  health,  or  office,  or  great  literary  attain- 
ments;  but  no  living  man  or  woman  need 
despair  of  gaining  salvation.  If  you  seek  it 
in  time,  and  seek  it  rightly,  it  is  yours.  The 
only  time  you  are  sure  of  is  the  present;  and 
the  only  way  is,  through  penitence  and  faith 
in  the  crucified  Jesus.  Eternal  life  is  now 
within  your  reach.  It  does  not  depend  on 
intellect,  or  wealth,  or  social  patronage,  or  on 
the  will  of  another.  It  depends  on  your  own 
wilHngness  to  accept  the  Saviour,  and  by 
divine  help  to  serve  him  faithfully.  God  will 
not  hinder  you,  and  Satan  cannot  hinder  you, 
if  you  are  in  earnest.  The  only  being  who 
can  destroy  you  is  your  own  self.  God  is 
love  ;  and  God  sets  before  you  life  and  death, 
and  says  to  you  with  infinite  tenderness, 
"  Choose  life  !     Give  me  thy  heart !  " 

*'  There  for  thee  the  Saviour  stands, 
Shows  his  wounds,  and  spreads  his  hands. 
Christ  is  love,  —  this  know  and  feel ; 
Jesus  weeps,  and  loves  thee  still." 

Not  long  since,  a  friend  came  into  my  study 

2 


26  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

in  deep  distress  of  mind :  she  had  been 
awakened  by  hearing  me  preach  from  the 
words,  "  Choose  life."  She  wished  to  know 
what  she  should  do.  I  said,  "  You  have  been 
opposing  God  all  your  life.  You  have  shut 
Christ  from  your  heart.  He  seeks  admission. 
Let  him  in.  Give  youi'self  all  up  to  him. 
Choose  life."  I  prayed  with  her,  and  be- 
sought her  to  yield  herself  to  Jesus  while  we 
were  on  our  knees.  After  rising  up,  I  handed 
to  her  Newman  Hall's  blessed  little  book, 
"  Come  to  Jesus''  She  laid  it  down,  and 
modestly  said,  "  I  want  now  to  pray  too." 
We  knelt  once  more  together  ;  and  in  sweet, 
artless  language  she  just  poured  out  her  whole 
soul  in  penitent  petition,  and  gave  herself  up 
to  Jesus.  She  rose  with  brightened  counte- 
nance, and  said,  "  I  feel  more  peaceful  now." 
She  had  made  the  great  choice  ;  she  had 
given  her  heart  to  God;  and  on  the  next 
Sabbath  she  stood  up  and  made  a  public  pro- 
fession of  her  faith  in  the  Redeemer.  My 
friend,  you  can  make  the  same  choice.  It  is 
only   a    moment's   work,   when   ycu    are    in 


THE    GREAT    CHOICE.  27 

earnest.  God  offers  you  his  help.  I  have 
set  before  you  life  and  death.  Before  you 
lay   down    this    book    determine    to    choose 

LIFE, 


THE  DECEITFULNESS   OF   SIN. 


TTOW  hard  it  is  for  physicians  to  unde- 
ceive a  consumptive  patient !  It  is  so 
painful  that  the  office  is  seldom  done.  The 
victim  of  that  flattering  disease  —  which  so 
often  selects  the  fairest  for  its  prey  —  tells  us 
every  day  that  she  is  better,  and  "  will  soon 
be  out  again."  The  hectic  flush  which  she 
mistakes  for  returning  health  is  only  a  cun- 
ning mask  behind  which  death  steals  in  to 
strike  the  doomed  one  to  the  heart.  Such  is 
the  deceitfulness  of  disease. 

We  could  to-day  summon  ten  thousand 
slaves  of  the  stimulating  cup,  and  not  one  of 
them  would  acknowledge  that  he  intends  to 
become  a  drunkard.  The  fatal  symptoms  of 
their  sin  are  all  too  legible  in  the  flushed 
face,  the  unsteady  gait,  and  the  tipsy  talk ; 
and  yet  they  stoutly  insist  that  they  "  never 


THE    DECEITFULNESS    OF    SIN.  29 

take  more  than  is  good  for  them,"  and  that 
they  "  know  just  when  to  stop."  This  is 
Satan's  catechism,  which  every  tippler  learns. 
Such  is  the  deceitfulness  of  evil  habit. 

Now,  just  as  the  victims  of  a  consumption 
or  a  cancer  deceive  themselves,  just  as  the 
inebriate  tries  to  conceal  from  himself  the 
fatal  serpent  in  his  social  glass,  so  do  all 
impenitent  persons  deceive  themselves  as  to 
the  nature  and  enormity  of  their  sins.  They 
regard  all  sin  against  God  as  a  light  thing. 
Dishonesty  in  trade,  falsehood,  adultery,  theft, 
treason,  they  understand  perfectly  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly injurious  to  their  victims  and  to 
society.  But  while  they  are  keenly  alive 
to  every  trespass  against  commercial  integrity 
cr  social  order,  they  utterly  belittle  all  heart- 
sin  against  a  holy  God.  They  regard  it  as  a 
trifle ;  and  secretly  a  vast  majority  of  impeni- 
tent sinners  hold  that  a  future  hell  is  an 
improbability.  I  once  heard  a  learned  judge 
say  that  the  idea  of  future  punishment  was 
"  a  ghost-story,  only  fit  to  frighten  weak- 
minded    women."       What    his     infidel     lips 


30  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

expressed  coarsely  millions  who  are  not 
"  infidels "  believe  in  their  inmost  hearts. 
Their  "  hearts  are  hardened  through  the 
deceitfulness  of  sin "  as  to  the  very  essence 
of  sin,  and  as  to  the  extent  of  their  own 
guiltiness. 

We  do  not  exaggerate  the  importance  of  a 
right  estimate  of  sin.  This  is  a  vital  point  in 
the  soul's  salvation :  it  is  more  than  a  technic 
of  theology.  The  nature  of  sin  and  its  in- 
herent ill-desert  is  a  precise  point  where  the 
rejectors  of  future  punishment  diverge  from 
the  path  of  truth.  Only  admit  that  sin  is  an 
infinite  ofience  against  Jehovah,  and  their 
error  perishes  in  a  moment,  under  the  direct 
threatenings  of  God's  Word.  It  is  at  this 
point  that  Socinians  leave  us,  and  leave  their 
Bibles  too.  They  assume  that  sin  is  a  light 
and  venial  thing  that  may  be  pardoned  without 
an  atonement ;  and  then  they  discover  no  need 
of  a  Divine  Redeemer  to  "  make  a  propitia- 
tion "  for  the  sinner.  When  a  man  is  thor- 
oughly competed  of  his  own  guiltiness  before 
God,  he  is  seldom  disturbed  with  any  Socinian 


THE    DECEITFULNESS    OF    SIN.  3l 

doubts  as  to  the  necessity  of  grasping  Christ 
Jesus  as  his  only  Saviour.  Sin  appears  to 
him  so  abominable  an  outrage  against  the 
holy  and  loving  God,  that  he  can  understand 
why  a  Redeemer  is  indispensable,  and  why  he 
should  accept  the  all  -  sufficient  One  whom 
the  gospel  offers.  In  fact,  this  matter  of 
estimating  sin  rightly  lies  at  the  dividing-spot 
between  truth  and  error,  with  myriads  of 
persons.  This  is  the  starting-point  toward 
Calvary  and  heaven;  or  it  is  the  "stum- 
bling-point," whence  they  precipitate  them 
selves  downward  toward  perdition. 

After  all,  what  is  sin?  It  is  a  transgres- 
sion of  the  law  of  God,  and  it  proceeds  from 
the  heart.  It  lies  not  only  in  evil  perform- 
ances, but  in  evil  purposes.  If  sin  is  com- 
mitted against  God,  what  does  God  himself 
say  about  it  1  He  pronounces  it  in  his  Word 
to  be  "exceeding  sinful," — "the  abominable 
thing  that  he  hates."  He  compares  it  to  a 
loathsome  leprosy.  He  declares  that  the 
"  wages  of  sin  is  deathP  He  declares  that 
even  the  "evil  thoughts"  which  proceed  from 


32  THOUGHT-HIYES 

the  heart  "defile  a  man,"  and  that  nothing 
that  defileth  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Many  passages  in  God's  Word  flash 
red  with  holy  wrath  against  sin  as  the  stu- 
pendous crime  against  the  government  of 
Jehovah. 

Human  history  is  the  record  of  what  sin 
has  wrought  from  Eden  to  this  hour.  Sin 
gives  birth  to  every  real  sorrow.  Sin  mingles 
every  cup  of  temptation.  Sin  breeds  every 
war.  Sin  blanches  every  corpse.  Sin  digs 
every  grave.  Sin  weaves  every  shroud.  Sin 
kindles  the  fires  of  future  torment.  As 
Chalmers  has  nervously  phrased  it,  "  the 
waste  and  the  havoc  of  centuries  that  are 
gone,  and  the  waste  and  havoc  of  centuries 
yet  to  come,  all  reverberate  in  one  awful 
voice,  '  Death  hath  passed  upon  all  men,  for 
that  all  have  sinned^' 

The  crowning  evidence  of  the  exceeding 
enormity  of  sin  is  seen  on  Calvary.  What 
reared  the  cross  %  What  wove  the  crown  of 
thorns  \  What  mingled  the  bitter  cup  which 
the    suffering    Jesus     prayed     "  might     pas? 


THE    DECEITFULNESS    OF    SIN.  33 

from  him  "  ?  What  slew  the  Lamb  of  God  ] 
Heaven,  earth,  and  hell,  all  answer  sm.  On 
that  background  of  infinite  love  —  the  love  of 
Him  who  died  for  sinners  —  human  guilt 
stands  out  with  a  midnight  malignity  of 
blackness ! 

Impenitent  friend !  come  up  to  Calvary, 
and  see  yourself  in  the  light  of  that  wonder- 
ful scene !  See  what  sin  is  doing  there, 
what  your  sin  deserves,  and  what  Jesus  bore 
there  for  you,  the  sinner.  Confess  there  what 
you  cannot  deny,  that  you  are  rejecting  Him 
who  shed  his  blood  for  you.  Confess  that 
you  are  making  a  mock  at  sin,  and  treating  it 
as  a  trifle.  Confess  that  you  are  among 
Christ's  crucifiers.  And  then  pretend,  if  you 
dare,  that  you  are  not  guilty.  If  those  who 
despise  Moses's  law  perish,  "  of  how  much 
sorer  punishment  will  you  be  thought  worthy 
who  have  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God, 
and  have  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant 
an  unholy  thing  1  " 

That  men  who  are  guilty  of  such  a  crime 
against  the  loving  Jesus   should  esteem  it  a 

2* 


34  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

small  and  venial  matter,  is  the  strongest  proof 
of  the  "  deceitfulness  of  sin."  Other  argu- 
ments cluster  about  it ;  but  we  have  .no  space 
to  cite  them.  We  might  remind  you  of  the 
thousand  false  promises  sin  makes,  but  never 
keeps.  It  promises  happiness,  and  pays  in 
remorse.  It  smiles  and  smiles,  and  "  murders 
while  it  smiles."  It  whispers  '*  ye  shall  not 
surely  die,"  but  its  wages  are  death  everlast- 
ing. 

We  have  read  of  a  singular  tree  that  forci- 
bly illustrates  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.  It  is 
called  the  Judas-tree.  The  blossoms  appear 
before  the  leaves,  and  they  are  of  brilliant 
crimson.  The  flaming  beauty  of  the  flowers 
attracts  innumerable  insects,  and  the  wander- 
ing bee  is  drawn  to  it  to  gather  honey.  But 
every  bee  that  alights  upon  the  blossoms 
imbibes  a  fatal  opiate,  and  drops  dead  from 
among  the  crimson  flowers  to  the  earth ! 
Beneath  this  enticing  tree  the  earth  is  strewed 
with  the  victims  of  its  fatal  fascinations.  That 
fatal  plant  that  attracts  only  to  destroy  is  a 
vivid  emblem  of  the  deceitfulness  and  deadli- 


THE    DECEITFULNESS    OF    SIN.  35 

ness  of  sin.  For  the  poison  of  sin's  bewitch- 
ing flowers  there  is  but  one  remedy.  It  is 
found  in  the  "  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,"  that 
groweth  on  Mount  Calvary. 


PxiYING   THE  FARE. 


'T^HAT  was  an  expensive  voyage  which 
Jonah  made  when  he  "  fled  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord "  and  ran  aw^ay  to 
Tarshish.  He  fonnd  a  ship  just  ready  to  sail, 
and  he  ''paid  the  fare  thereof,'''  But  he 
paid  dearly.  How  much  money  he  paid  we 
do  not  know ;  but  it  was  a  dead  loss,  for  he 
never  got  to  Tarshish.  He  paid  away  his 
credit  as  a  servant  of  the  Lord.  He  made 
a  hard  draft  on  his  conscience^  and  that  is 
always  a  dear  bargain  for  any  man.  Nothing 
hurts  us  like  the  hurts  we  give  to  our  con- 
science. 

After  Jonah's  sinful  voyage  began,  the  sec 
ond  part,  and  the   hardest  part,  of  the   bill 
came  in.     For  the  Almighty  sent  after  him 
the  policeman  of  a  mighty  gale,  which  caught 
hold  of  the  vessel  and  well-nigh  shivered  it 


PAYING    THE    FARE.  37 

into  wreck.  Poor  Jonah  had  not  paid  his 
fixre  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea ;  but  there  is  no 
help  for  him.  The  frightened  crew  pitched 
him  out  into  the  deep,  and  but  for  God's  in- 
terposing mercy  he  might  have  been  devoured 
by  the  sharks  instead  of  being  preserved  by 
that  "  great  fish  "  which  was  sent  to  transport 
him  safely  to  the  dry  land.  A  dear  voyage 
that !  The  prophet  who  ran  away  from  God 
lost  his  money,  lost  his  time,  lost  his  credit, 
lost  the  approval  of  his  conscience  and  of  his 
God,  and  would  have  lost  his  life  but  for  a 
miraculous  interposition.  All  this  was  the 
"  fare  "  which  one  man  paid  for  sinning. 

But  many  of  our  readers  may  be  commit- 
ting the  same  terrible  mistake.  For  no  path 
seems  to  most  people  so  easy  and  pleasant  to 
travel,  as  the  path  of  sinful  inclination.  It  is 
what  the  Bible  calls  "  walking  in  the  way 
of  a  man's  oion  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  his 
0W71  eyes.''  One  man,  for  example,  is  entire- 
ly absorbed  in  making  money.  When  this 
becomes  a  greedy  appetite,  the  money-lover 
must  pay  for  it  with  daily  anxiety  and  worry, 


38  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

and  he  runs  the  fearful  risk  of  being  eaten  up 
with  covetousness.  A  greed  for  wealth  grows 
with  years.  When  the  rich  miser  of  New 
York  tottered  out  into  the  street  at  fourscore, 
and  a  friend  asked  him  how  he  felt,  the  fee- 
ble old  miser  replied  eagerly,  "  I  feel  better  to- 
day :  stocks  are  up."  Ah !  what  a  fare  that 
old  millionnaire  had  to  pay  for  travelling  far- 
ther and  faster  than  others  on  the  road  to 
wealth!  It  shrivelled  up  his  very  soul.  Gold 
may  be  a  useful  servant,  but  it  is  a  cruel  mas- 
ter. It  is  not  easy  to  own  it  without  its  own- 
ing us.  Where  one  man  makes  it  a  rich 
blessing  to  others,  thousands  make  it  the  ruin 
of  their  souls.  Love  of  money  drew  Lot  to 
the  fertile  valley  of  Sodom,  and  he  "  paid  the 
fare  thereof"  in  the  destruction  of  his  family. 
Love  of  money  made  Gehazi  a  knave:  he 
"paid  the  fare"  in  an  incurable  leprosy. 
Love  of  money  was  one  of  two  sins  for  which 
Judas  paid  with  the  suicide's  rope,  and  ever- 
lasting infamy.  No  man  can  make  money 
safely  and  wisely,  unless  he  holds  his  earn- 
ings as  a  trust  from  God.     What  would  it 


PAYING   THE    FARE.  39 

profit  you  to  win  the  wealth  of  an  empire, 
if  you  should  pay  for  it  the  price  of  your 
undying  soul?  "What  shall  a  man  give  in 
exchange  for  his  soul?" 

Into  no  road  do  young  persons  press  more 
eagerly  than  the  road  to  sensual  indulgence. 
No  turnpike  is  more  travelled,  and  none  ex- 
acts a  more  terrible  "  toll."  He  who  travels 
it  must  "  pay  the  fare  "  thereof.  The  licen- 
tious man  pays  it  in  shame  and  self-loathing, 
in  remorse  and  "  rottenness  of  the  bones." 
No  young  maiden  can  take  these  hot  coals  in- 
to her  bosom  without  being  fearfully  burned. 
The  beautiful  but  ill-fated  girl  from  New 
Jersey,  whose  tragical  end  once  awakened 
such  a  universal  thrill  of  horror,  may  have 
taken  only  one  false  step  at  fii'st.  But  how 
far  that  led !  It  requires  but  one  step  to  go 
down  Niagara.  She  paid  dearly  for  yielding 
to  temptation ;  for  the  end  of  it  was  death. 
Hundreds  of  young  men  are  pressing  in  every 
night  to  houses  of  wanton  pleasure,  bent  only 
on  enjoyment.  But  over  the  door  of  every 
house  of  infamy  the  finger  of  inspu'ation  has 


40  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

written,  "  This  house  is  the  way  to  hell  going 
down  to  the  chambers  of  death." 

All  along  the  seductive  pathways  of  self- 
indulgence  God  places  his  toll-gates  of  retri- 
bution. I  sometimes  pass  in  the  streets  a 
wretched  man  who  often  needs  the  help  pf 
a  policeman  to  convey  him  to  his  desolated 
home.  He  was  once  rich  and  respected. 
Poor  victim  of  the  bottle,  he  is  "  paying  the 
toll"  on  the  devil's  turnpike.  The  heartless 
dramsellers,  who  furnish  him  the  poison  for 
guilty  gain,  will  have  to  pay  theirs  when  they 
reach  the  judgment-bar  of  God  ! 

We  cannot  stop  to  recount  all  the  penalties 
which  men  and  women  have  to  pay  for  sin- 
ning. The  costliest  thing  in  the  world  is  sin. 
It  costs  purity  of  conscience,  and  costs  the 
favor  of  God.  It  will  cost  at  the  last  the  loss 
of  heaven.  The  sin  of  grieving  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  cost  many  a  one  everlasting  per- 
dition. 

"  Show  me  the  better  way, — show  me  the 
safe  way,"  exclaim  some  of  my  readers  who 
are  alarmed  at  their  own  course  of  sin,  and 


PAYING   THE    FARE.  41 

who  really  desire  to  live  a  better  life.  "  Show 
me  the  way,  and  tell  me  what  is  the  fare  there- 
of.'^^  Friend,  salvation  is  free  on  God's  side; 
but  on  your  side  it  must  be  won  by  repent- 
ance and  faith.  As  far  as  Christ's  precious 
atonement  is  concerned, 

•♦  Nothing,  either  great  or  small, 

Remains  for  you  to  do ; 

Jesus  died  and  paid  it  all  — 

All  the  debt  you  owe ! " 

But  the  road  to  heaven,  which  the  crucified 
Jesus  has  opened  to  you,  can  only  be  entered 
by  your  abandoning  of  your  sins,  and  follow- 
ing him  in  faith  and  self-denial.  "  Except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God."  "  Except  a  man  take  up  his 
cross  and  follow  Christ,  he  cannot  be  his  dis- 
ciple." Friend,  this  "fare"  you  must  "pay" 
to  enter  heaven.     Are  you  willing? 


TO  JESUS  — AT  ONCE 


A  T  a  certain  prayer-meeting  a  friend  of 
ours  arose,  and  gave  the  narrative  of 
his  first  year's  experience  as  a  Christian.  He 
had  tried  the  religion  of  Jesus  for  himsehf; 
and  the  more  he  followed  the  Saviour,  the 
more  of  delight  he  found  in  the  service.  If 
those  who  sneer  at  practical  religion  would 
only  seek  it  for  themselves,  and  make  a  fair 
trial  of  it,  their  lips  would  be  sealed  to  scoffs, 
and  only  opened  in  grateful  praise.  I  never 
heard  of  a  sincere  Christian  who  pronounced 
Christianity  an  imposture  or  a  failure.  Have 
you? 

Our  friend  told  us  of  his  conversion.  It 
was  very  sudden,  yet  none  the  less  genuine  for 
that.  No  conversion  could  be  more  sudden 
than  that  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  ;  but  the  jailer's 
at  Philippi,  and  the  eunuch's  on  the  road  to 


TO  JESUS  —  AT  once!  43 

Gaza,  seem  to  have  been  quite  as  much  so. 
In  fact,  the  Bible  descriptions  of  regeneration 
are  generally  alike  in  two  particulars:  there 
is  a  powerful  drawing  of  the  soul  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  there  is  an  immediate  turning  from 
sin  to  the  Divine  Kedeemer.  It  was  so  with 
my  friend.  He  told  us  that  he  was  at  church 
on  a  certain  Sabbath  evening,  and  the  com- 
mand of  Christ  to  Andrew,  ''follow  me,"  came 
into  his  mind  with  prodigious  power.  He  at 
once  resolved  to  follow  Jesus,  and  ever  since 
that  time  has  been  an  earnest,  working  Chris- 
tian. He  had  no  protracted  season  of  distress 
before  he  was  willing  to  accept  the  Saviour. 
But  he  commenced  the  practical  duties  of  the 
Christian  life  at  once,  and  sought  to  "  do  the 
work  of  to-day,  with  to-day's  light,  and  help 
from  the  Lord." 

This  was  a  very  brief  and  business-like 
statement  of  a  great  religious  revolution  in  a 
human  soul.  It  furnishes  a  model  for  every 
unconverted  sinner,  with  whom  the  Spirit  of 
God  is  striving.  That  loving  Spirit  may  now 
be  striving  with  you,  my  reader.     If  you  have 


44  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

felt,  or  do  feel,  an  inward  compunction  ovei 
your  life  of  sin,  and  a  yearning  after  a  better 
life,  then  is  the  Divine  Spirit  at  work  upon 
your  conscience.  Do  not  wait  for  the  Spirit : 
he  is  already  with  you.  Yield  to  him ;  pray 
for  his  deeper  power  and  renewing  grace.  Do 
not  wait  for  a  more  vivid  sense  of  guilt :  men 
find  out  more  of  their  own  wickedness  after 
they  have  come  to  Jesus  than  they  ever 
dreamed  of  before.  Do  not  wait  for  more 
feeling  of  any  description.  If  you  had  fallen 
from  a  ferry-boat  into  yonder  river,  with  its 
floating  ice,  would  you  wait  to  feel  any  colder 
before  you  seized  the  rope  flung  to  you  from 
the  vessel's  deck  ] 

Christ  has  waited  long  enough  —  too  long 
—  for  you  already.  Accept  liim  at  once ! 
When  the  leper  came  to  him  for  healing,  the 
Master  bade  him  "  go  shew  himself  to  the 
priest,"  and  report  himself  cured.  The  suffer- 
ing creature  did  not  stop  to  count  his  loath- 
some "  scabs,"  or  to  pull  off  a  single  "  scale  " 
from  his  frightful  face.  He  asked  no  ques- 
tions either,  but  set  off  at  once  as  directed  ; 


TO    JESLS A.T    ONCE.  45 

and  we  read  that  "  as  he  went  he  was  healed." 
The  path  of  obedience  was  the  path  of  his 
salvation.  When  Christ  found  Andrew  and 
James  and  John  on  the  lake-shore  of  Galilee, 
he  said  to  them,  "  Follow  me."  They  obeyed 
the  authoritative  call,  and  straightway  fol- 
lowed him.  He  did  not  come  twice  after 
them,  nor  did  he  need  to  speak  twice  to  them. 
They  forsook  their  nets,  their  homes,  their 
kindred,  and  entered  at  once  upon  a  career  of 
self-denying  toil,  which  gradually  grew  into 
the  mightiest  mission  for  God  and  humanity 
that  was  ever  intrusted  to  mortal  hands  and 
hearts.  Just  imagine  that  those  men  had  said 
710,  instead  of  yes. 

But  they  did  not  even  sit  down  to  weep 
over  their  sins,  or  stop  to  chaffer  with  the 
Saviour  about  the  profits  of  the  trade  they 
were  abandoning.  The  gripe  of  that  com- 
mand, ''  Follow  me,"  was  like  the  gripe  of  a 
hand  of  steel  clothed  in  velvet :  it  was  soft, 
but  strong.  They  rose  up,  quit  their  nets, 
and  set  off  immediately  on  a  march  of  toil 
and  humiliation,  which  led  to  martyrdom  on 


46  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

earth,  and  to  a  crown  of  unfading  glory  in  the 
presence  of  God  and  the  holy  angels. 

You,  too,  must  forsake  your  "  net."  It  is 
your  favorite  sin.  Perhaps  many  a  sin ;  but 
often  a  single  besetting  sin  is  a  "  net "  that  en- 
tangles a  soul  in  its  meshes,  and  unless  that 
net  is  forsaken  the  soul  cannot  follow  the 
Master.  What  is  your  net  ]  God  knows ; 
and  so  do  you.  Perhaps  others  have  seen 
your  hindrance  in  a  sparkling  glass  which 
fashion  or  appetite  keeps  on  your  table. 
Break  that  glass,  or  it  may  break  your  heart 
in  the  world  of  woe.  We  have  seen  more 
awakened  sinners  drawn  back  to  impenitence 
through  the  stress  of  sensual  temptation  than 
by  any  other  device  of  the  devil.  The  decan- 
ter, the  card-table,  and  the  play-house  are 
damning  more  souls  to-day  than  all  the  in- 
fidelity on  the  globe. 

Perhaps  your  "  net "  is  a  complicity  with  dis- 
honest dealing.  You  may  be  making  money 
against  the  protest  of  conscience.  Perhaps 
you  are  held  back  by  fear  of  your  associates ; 
you  seek  to  live  on  good  terms  with  sinners, 


TO    JESUS AT    ONCE.  47 

and  to  die  on  good  terras  with  God.  This 
cannot  be  done.  He  who  takes  up  no  cross 
shall  wear  no  crown.  But  suppose  that  some 
irreligious  friend  does  stare  at  you,  or  sneer ; 
it  may  be  that  some  other  one  may  be  startled 
out  of  his  thoughtlessness  by  your  fearless 
standing  up  for  Jesus,  and  you  may  save  a 
soul  unawares.  Do  right,  and  leave  con- 
sequences to  God. 

We  cannot  specify  all  the  "nets"  of  fa- 
vorite sins,  or  indulged  cavils  and  doubts, 
which  our  thousands  of  readers  may  be  cling- 
ing to ;  no  matter  what  the  hindrance,  so  that 
it  keeps  you  from  Christ.  A  man  may  be 
crushed  by  an  avalanche,  or  poisoned  by  an 
atom  of  strychnine :  each  one  takes  life  I  And 
the  sin  that  keeps  you  from  Jesus  takes  your 
life  for  all  eternity. 

The  only  true  repentance  is  an  abandon- 
ment of  known  sin.  The  only  true  faith  is 
the  entire  yielding  of  the  soul  to  Jesus  for 
salvation.  The  two  make  up  evangelical  con- 
version. And  sincere  coming  to  Jesus  em- 
braces   the    two.     This    vital    step   may   be 


48  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

attended  with  poignant  distress  of  mind,  or  it 
may  not.  This  will  depend  on  your  tempera- 
ment and  on  the  methods  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
work.  Do  not  be  anxious  about  the  degree 
of  your  distress.  Tears  do  not  save :  Christ 
does.  Wait  for  nothing.  Wait  for  no  one. 
Just  begin  to  serve  Jesus  in  the  first  duty  that 
comes  to  your  hand.  Just  refuse  to  do  the 
first  wrong  thing  to  which  you  are  tempted. 
Do  this  in  prayer  for  divine  help.  You  will 
get  no  help  and  no  comfort  while  you  remain 
with  your  "  nets :  "  hasten  to  Jesus,  and  at 
once  ! 


"SIN  NO  MORE!' 


/^^HEIST  did  not  excuse  her  sin.  He  did 
not  defend  or  palliate  it  when  he  re- 
fused to  decide  that  she  should  be  stoned  to 
death  on  the  spot ;  especially  by  such  a  gang 
of  guilty  sharpers  as  the  scribes  and  Pharisees 
who  had  dragged  her  into  his  presence.  He 
set  before  the  already  convicted  adulteress  the 
one  clear,  practical  duty, — reformation.  This 
displayed  the  highest  wisdom  and  the  highest 
love.  The  woman  had  wandered  away  from 
the  right ;  now  let  her  come  back  to  it.  She 
had  sinned  against  the  purity  of  her  woman- 
hood ;  now  let  her  stop  her  evil  courses,  and 
sin  no  more. 

My  object  in  this  chapter  is  to  press  upon 
every  unconverted  person  this  one  precise 
duty, — reformation.  These  are  times  of  revi- 
val in  many  of  our  congregations,  and  many 


50  THOUGHT-HTYES. 

are  inquiring,  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved]" 
Come  to  Jesus,  is,  of  course,  the  first  answer 
to  this  vital  question.  But  can  an  awakened 
sinner  come  to  Jesus  with  any  hope  of  being 
forgiven  and  renewed  w4iile  he  is  wickedly 
clinging  to  his  besetting  sins  1  No  !  Repent-  ^ 
ance  is  as  essential  as  faith  in  order  to  salva- 
tion. Eepentance  is  not  merely  sorrow  for 
past  sins :  it  is  abandonment  of  present  sins. 
It  is  the  abandonment  of  our  own  specific 
sins. 

This  wretched  woman  of  the  story  had 
been  guilty  of  a  distinct  transgression.  She 
had  trodden  one  dark  and  damnable  path  un- 
til it  brought  her  up  against  the  holy  sin- 
hatinsT  Son  of  God.  He  does  not  crush  her 
with  curses.  He  just  points  out  to  her  the 
other  path,  —  the  better  path,  the  brighter 
path  of  reformation.  "  Go,  and  sin  no  more." 
Quit  this  life  of  sin.  Our  Lord  did  not  teach 
any  visionary  doctrine  of  "  perfectionism." 
He  did  not  command  her  to  become  a  fault- 
less angel ;  but  he  did  command  her  to  be- 
come a  better  woman.     As   she  had   stained 


"sin  no  more  !"  51 

her  soul  and  her  life  by  abominable  practices, 
the  all-wise  Jesus  exhorts  her  to  abandon 
them.  This  was  to  be  the  proof  of  her  re- 
pentance ;  this  her  guide  to  a  better  life. 

Before  my  unconverted  reader  I  hold  up 
these  inspiring,  hope-kindling  words, — faith 
in  Jesus  and  reformation.  Your  conscience 
condemns  you.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  striving 
with  you.  You  often  say  to  youi-^elf,  "Would 
that  I  were  a  better  man,  or  a  better  woman ! 
1  am  not  fit  to  die.  I  am  not  fit  to  live.  I 
am  guilty  before  God."  Your  past  is  irrepar- 
able. You  cannot  live  that  over  again.  It  is 
gone,  with  all  its  guilty  record,  into  the 
"  books  of  remembrance."  But  you  can  save 
your  future ;  you  can  save  the  present. 
There  is  a  door  of  hope  set  before  you  by  the 
loving  Jesus.  It  is  the  door  of  repentance 
and  reformation. 

Stop  and  change  !  Don't  excuse  yourself 
by  saying  that  a  change  of  heart  requires 
God's  aid.  It  does ;  but  he  offers  and  prom- 
ises his  aid,  and  he  offers  it  to  you  as  a  free 
agent.     You   are   an   intelligent,    accountable 


52  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

being,  with  the  power  of  choice.  "  Stop  sin- 
ning ! "  said  Christ  to  the  adulteress.  Stop 
sinning!  "  What  sin'?"  you  inquire,  per- 
haps. We  answer:  Your  sin,  —  the  sin  you 
committed  yesterday,  and  the  sin  you  are 
committing  to-day. 

You  may  be  owing  an  old  debt,  or  indulg- 
ing an  old  and  wicked  enmity.  Go  at  once 
and  pay  the  one,  and  settle  the  other  by  ask- 
ing forgiveness.  The  refusal  to  pay  a  just 
debt  which  you  can  pay,  or  to  love  one  whom 
you  maliciously  hate,  are  sins  against  God; 
and  while  you  harbor  them,  your  repentance 
cannot  be  genuine.  You  never  will  be  saved 
"  by  works  ;  "  but  let  me  tell  you  most  plainly 
that  you  never  will  be  saved  without  works. 
You  must  "  keep  the  commandments,"  or  the 
love  of  Christ  cannot  be  within  you.  Christ's 
command  to  you  is  to  forsake  your  sins. 

Perhaps  you  are  profane.  Then  stop 
swearing.  You  have  been  "damning"  long 
enough.  God  may  take  you  at  your  word, 
and  damn  you  for  ever.  Wash  your  soiled 
lips  with  prayer,  and  swear  no  more. 


"  SIN    NO    MORE  !  "  53 

More  than  one  whom  I  know  is  kept  from 
Christ  by  too  much  familiarity  with  the  de- 
canter. He  loves  his  glass.  The  moment  a 
man  begins  to  love  the  stimulating  cup,  and 
to  hanker  for  it,  he  is  in  danger.  I  can  name 
scores  of  my  acquaintances  whose  chief  hin- 
drance is  their  slavery  to  the  bottle.  Is  that 
your  hindrance?  Then  you  must  give  up 
your  bottle,  or  give  up  your  soul.  Implore 
God's  help,  and  sin  no  more.  The  Saviour  is 
testing  you,  just  as  he  tested  the  young  ruler 
whom  he  commanded  to  sell  his  possessions 
and  "  come  and  follow  me."  If  you  are  un- 
willing to  deny  yourself  in  the  indulgence  of  a 
favorite  vice,  you  cannot  be  Christ's  disciple. 

The  atoning  Saviour  has  opened  a  door  of 
salvation  to  the  guilty.  There  is  room  for 
every  sincere  seeker.  But  there  is  no  room 
for  the  sinner's  sins.  There  is  no  room  for 
self-righteousness.  Those  "  filthy  rags  "  must 
be  flung  away  if  you  would  enter.  There  is 
no  room  for  covetousness.  If  you  love  gold 
more  than  Jesus,  you  cannot  enter.  Every 
sinful    practice    is    contraband  at   the   gate 


54  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

You  cannot  smuggle  in  a  besetting  sin.  Here 
probably  is  the  core  of  your  difficulty.  Many 
an  awakened  sinner  has  failed  to  be  converted 
simply  because  he  clung  to  some  one  or  more 
favorite  sins  which  God  commanded  him  to 
give  up. 

One  of  my  neighbors  went  home  lately  con- 
victed of  the  sin  of  ingratitude  to  God,  He 
had  led  a  prayerless,  thankless  life.  He  went 
down  on  his  knees  and  asked  forgiveness. 
He  began  to  pray  with  his  family.  He  con- 
fessed his  sins  at  his  household  altar.  He 
not  only  made  his  Christian  wife  happy,  but 
has  become  a  happy  man  himself.  God  has 
given  him  a  new  heart ;  but  the  man  asked 
for  it. 

FrienS,  if  you  are  still  living  a  prayerless, 
godless  life,  you  are  in  fearful  peril.  You 
are  presuming  on  God's  forbearance.  Your 
Maker  has  "let  you  alone"  for  a  long  time, 
though  a  barren  fig-tree.  You  are  sinning 
against  wondrous  love.  You  are  sinning 
against  a  noonday  light  of  truth.  You  are 
sinning  against  the   Eedeemer's   compassion. 


"sin  no  more!"  55 

You  are  trampling  his  cross  under  foot.  This 
sin  of  hardened  impenitence  will  cost  you  your 
soul.  Go  straightway  to  the  forgiving  Jesus, 
whose  "  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin,"  and 
determine  that  with  his  help  you  will  sm  no 
more. 


HYIMNS  OF  HOMAGE  TO  CHRIST. 


nPHERE  are  many  popular  hymns  whose 
key-note  is  an  ascription  of  heart-loyalty 
to  Jesus  Christ.  Among  these,  two  are  es- 
pecial favorites ;  yet  so  little  is  generally 
known  of  their  authorship  and  their  history 
that  we  propose  to  write  what  we  have  been 
able  to  gather  in  regard  to  them. 

The  first  of  these  hymns  is  one  which 
always  stirs  us  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet. 
Everybody  knows  the  words,  and  everybody 
is  familiar  with  the  tune  of  "  Coronation,"  to 
which  it  is  wedded.  If  a  man  like  George 
H.  Stuart  or  D.  L.  Moody  were  called  upon 
to  lead  a  vast  miscellaneous  meeting  of  Chris- 
tians, probably  the  first  hymn  which  they 
would  choose  to  "  fire  the  heart"  of  the  meet 
ing  would  be  those  well-known  lines,  — 


HYMNS    OF    HOMAGE    TO    CHRIST.  51 

•*  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name ! 
Let  angels  prostrate  Ml ; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! " 

As  published  in  our  American  collections, 
this  joyous  and  inspiring  hymn  contains  only 
five  verses.  But  the  original  version  —  now 
preserved  in  the  British  Museum  —  contains 
eight  stanzas,  of  which  the  last  one  is  as 
follows :  — 

**  Let  every  tribe  and  every  tongue. 
That  bound  creation's  call, 
Now  shout  in  universal  song, 
And  crown  Hun  Lord  of  all ! " 

Of  this  stanza  our  ordinary  version  retains 
but  one  line.  The  whole  hymn  has  been 
most  ruthlessly  tinkered  by  the  tribe  of  hymn- 
menders  ;  but,  not  content  with  patching  the 
sacred  song  itself,  they  have  plundered  it  of 
its  rightful  authorship.  It  was  often  attrib- 
uted to  Eowland  Hill,  with  whom  it  was  a 
great  favorite.  In  most  of  our  books  it  is 
attributed  to  one  "  Duncan."  But  the  real 
author  was  the  Eev,  Edward  Perronet,  a 
zealous  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  ancient 

8»  • 


58  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

county  of  Kent.  He  was  a  man  of  keen  wit 
and  indomitable  courage,  and  broke  loose  from 
the  English  Established  Church  to  become 
a  travelling  companion  of  Charles  Wesley. 
He  afterwards  became  the  pastor  of  one  of 
Lady  Huntington's  chapels  in  Canterbury. 
He  must  have  been  a  kindred  spirit  with 
joyous-hearted  Wesley,  and  we  can  imagine 
them  as  singing  their  way  through  southern 
England  like  old  "  Great  Heart"  and  "  Stand- 
fast" in  Bunyan's  allegory.  Perronet  pub- 
lished a  small  volume  of  "  Occasional  Verses, 
Moral  and  Social,"  in  1785,  which  is  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum.  He  wrote  many 
verses,  but  only  one  great  hymn.  That  was 
enough :  the  man  did  not  live  in  vain  whb 
taught  Christ's  Church  her  grandest  coro- 
nation-song in  honor  of  her  King.  When 
and  where  Perronet  was  born  we  do  not 
know;  but  he  died  with  holy  ecstasy  in  1792, 
and  went  up  to  join  in  the  coronation  services 
of  heaven.  His  last  words  were,  "  Glory  to 
God  in  the  height  of  His  divinity !  Glory 
to  God  in  the  depth  of  His  humanity !     Glory 


HYMNS    OF    HOMAGE    TO    CHRIST.  59 

to  God  in  His  all-sufficiency,  and  into  His 
hands  I  commit  my  spirit."  He  left  no 
written  biography  on  earth ;  but  when  his 
soul  entered  the  realms  of  bliss  there  must 
have  been  a  "  new  song  "  of  peculiar  sweet- 
ness and  rapture  heard  before  the  throne  of 
God  and  of  the  Lamb. 

With  the  song  of  homage  to  Jesus,  left  to 
us  by  Edward  Perronet,  there  is  worthy  to  be 
coupled  another  one,  which  is*"  pitched  to  the 
same  joyful  key.  It,  too,  was  composed  by  a 
hymnist  quite  unknown  to  fame  Very  few 
persons,  as  they  see  the  name  of  "  Medley " 
attached  to  the  list  of  authors  in  their  hymn- 
books,  are  fully  certain  whether  the  word  de- 
scribes a  man  or  a  musical  "  medley  "  of  some 
kind.  Let  it  be  kno^vn,  then,  that  Samuel 
Medley  was  a  man,  —  every  inch  of  him, — 
and  a  rather  extraordinary  man  too  in  his  way. 
Born  somewhere  in  England  during  the  year 
1738,  he  became  a  midshipman  in  the  British 
navy,  and  fought  bravely  in  several  battles 
under  some  of  old  William  Pitt's  stout  ad- 
mirals.    He  was  converted  by  reading  one  of 


60  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

Isaac  Watts's  discourses.  He  then  quit  the 
sea  and  entered  the  army  of  Christ's  ministers, 
serving  in  the  Baptist  "  corps  "  with  remark- 
able zeal  and  success.  Medley  preached  in 
Liverpool  for  many  years,  attracting  troops  of 
sailors  to  his  chapel.  Sometimes  he  went  out 
on  mission-tours  through  the  land,  and  once 
he  was  preaching  in  a  barn  on  the  text,  "  Cast 
down,  but  not  destroyed."  In  the  midst  of 
the  discourse  his  temporary  pulpit  of  rough 
boards  gave  way  and  precipitated  him  upon 
the  barn-floor.  The  lively  sailor  leaped  up, 
and  in  a  Beecher-ish  vein  of  humor  exclaimed, 
"  Well,  friends,  you  see  we  too  are  cast  down, 
but  not  destroyed." 

While  in  Liverpool  the  Spirit  moved  him 
to  compose  over  two  hundred  hymns,  which 
he  published  first  on  slips  of  paper  for  circula- 
tion. Many  of  them  were  sold  for  a  ha'penny 
by  a  poor  blind  girl  who  sat  on  the  church- 
steps,  and  thus  earned  her  daily  bread.  But 
that  poor  sightless  child  had  some  rare  treas- 
ures in  her  pile  of  "  broad- sheets.''  For 
among  them  was  that  glowing  lyric, — 


HYMNS    OF    HOMAGE    TO    CHRIST.  61 

**  Ob  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth. 
Oh  could  I  sound  the  glories  forth, 

That  in  my  Saviour  shine,  — 
I'd  soar  and  touch  the  heavenly  strings. 
And  vie  with  Gabriel  while  he  sings 
In  notes  ahnost  divine  ! " 

In  that  collection  was  also  the  hymn,  "  Dear- 
est of  names,  my  Lord  and  King."  But  the 
choicest  treasure  in  the  poor  blind  girl's  pile 
of  handbills  was  the  one  on  which  was 
printed  that  dear  old  hymn,  which  has  been 
sung  in  ten  thousand  revival  meetings,  — 

**  Awake,  my  soul,  in  joj'ful  lays, 
And  sing  thy  great  Redeemer's  praise ; 
He  justly  claims  a  song  from  me ; 
His  loving  kindness,  oh,  how  free ! " 

In  this  jubilant  song  there  were  originally 
nine  verses  :  the  last  one  has  been  dropped 
out  of  our  collections,  and  I  therefore  insert  it 
here :  — 

•*  There  with  their  golden  harps  I'll  join. 
And  with  their  anthems  mingle  mine, 
And  loudly  sound  on  every  chord 
The  loving  kindness  of  my  Lord.'* 

jEsthetically  considered,  this  is  not  a  re- 
markable  bit  of  poetry  ;    but,  for  a  popular 


62  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

outburst  of  loyal  love  to  the  Eedeemer,  it  is 
unsurpassed.  The  common  people  sing  it 
gladly.  It  will  be  chanted  through  tears  of 
joy  when  many  a  massive  epic  is  forgotten. 
It  bears  the  odors  of  paradise. 

Samuel  Medley,  like  Perronet,  went  home 
to  glory,  shouting.  On  his  dying-bed  he 
seemed  to  be  watching  the  points  of  a  com- 
pass, and  kept  saying,  "  One  point  more  ;  two 
points  more ;  now  only  one  point  more." 
Then  he  shouted  out,  "  How  sweet  will  be  the 
port  after  the  storm !  Dying  is  sweet  work ! 
Home,  home,  hallelujah !  glory,  home^  home  ! '' 
And  so  the  glorious  old  mariner  passed  in, 
with  all  sails  set.  to  the  '•  desired  haven." 


GIVING  UP  — FOll   CHEIST. 


A  FKIEND  requested  me  to  name  a  few 
simple  and  practical  rules  for  Christian 
self-denial.  "  It  is  not  what  a  man  takes  up, 
but  what  he  gives  up,  that  makes  him  rich 
towards  God."  Now  what  ought  a  follower 
of  Jesus  to  give  up  for  his  Master's  sake  ] 

1.  Of  course  every  man  who  would  become 
a  Christ's  man  must  renounce  every  thing 
that  God's  Word  and  a  healthy  conscience  set 
down  as  wrong.  All  sins  are  "  contraband " 
at  the  gateway  of  entrance  to  the  Christian 
life.  The  sentinel  at  the  gate  challenges  us 
with  the  command,  —  "  Lay  down  that  sin  !  " 
"  Cease  to  do  evil "  comes  before  "  Learn  to 
do  w^ell." 

2.  We  must  give  up  whatever  by  its  direct 
influence  tends  to  injure  ourselves  or  others. 
Here  comes  in  the  law  of  brotherly  love,  —  the 


64  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

law  of  avoiding  the  appearance  of  evil,  and  of 
renouncing  whatever  causes  our  brother  to 
stumble.  This  is  the  generally  accepted  basis 
for  the  duty  of  total  abstinence  from  intoxi- 
cating drinks.     They  endanger  my  neighbor 

A ,  and  they  are  destroying  my  brother 

B ;  therefore  I  ought  to  avoid  setting  the 

example     of    their    use    before    A and 

B .      Total  abstinence  then  rests  on  the 

double  ground  of  self-preservation,  and  of  self- 
denial  for  the  sake  of  others.  We  have  a 
very  poor  opinion  of  the  piety  of  any  man 
who  will  not  give  up  his  bottle  of  wine  or  any 
other  self-indulgence  for  the  sake  of  taking 
a  stumbling-block  out  of  a  fellow-creature's 
path. 

This  second  principle  of  abandoning  every 
practice  which  may  mislead  others  is  the  one 
to  be  applied  by  a  Christian  whenever  he  is 
solicited  to  play  whist,  or  to  attend  the  opera, 
the  circus,  or  the  dancing-party.  You  may 
not  become  a  gambler,  but  cards  make  gam- 
blers of  others.  You  may  not  be  corrupted 
by  the  opera-stage,  or  the  promiscuous  dance ; 


GIVING    UP FOR    CHRIST.  65 

but  their  influence  has  damaged  thousands  of 
your  fellow  Christians.  The  safe  side  of  all 
questionable  amusements  is  the  outside, 

3.  Give  up  whatever  tends  to  pamper  the 
passions,  or  to  kindle  unholy  desires.  Paul's 
noble  determination  to  "keep  his  body  un- 
der" implies  that  there  was  something  or 
other  in  Paul's  fleshly  nature  which  ought  to 
be  kept  under.  It  is  also  true  of  about  every 
Christian,  that  somewhere  in  his  nature  lies  a 
weak  point,  a  besetting  tendency  to  sin ;  and 
right  there  must  be  applied  the  check-rein  of 
self-denial.  Even  eminent  Christians  have 
had  to  wage  constant  battle  with  sexual  pas- 
sions. Others  have  had  sore  conflict  with 
irritable,  violent  tempers.  Old  Dr.  Alexander 
used  to  say  to  us  students,  "  Young  breth- 
ren, envy  is  a  besetting  sin  with  the  minis- 
try :  you  must  keep  that  abominable  spirit  un- 
der." When  a  servant  of  Christ  is  willing  to 
take  a  back  seat,  or  to  yield  the  pre-eminence 
to  others,  he  is  making  a  surrender  which  is 
well  pleasing  to  his  meek  and  lowly  Master. 
One  of  the  hardest  things  to  many  a  Christian 

3» 


66  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

is  to  serve  his  Saviour  as  a  "  private,"  when 
his  pride  tells  him  that  he  ought  to  wear  a 
"  shoulder-strap  "  in  Christ's  army. 

4.  Another  very  hard  thing  for  most  per- 
sons to  give  up  is  to  give  up  having  their  own 
way.  But  the  very  essence  of  true  spiritual 
obedience  lies  just  here.  It  is  right  here  that 
self-sufficiency  and  vanity  and  waywardness 
and  obstinacy  are  to  be  met.  Here  they  must 
be  sacrificed  to  that  demand  of  the  Master, 
that  He  shall  rule  and  not  we.  Only  a  truly 
self-denying,  self-abnegating  disciple  can  adopt 
those  words  which  the  holy-minded  Dr.  Skin- 
ner lined  off  to  his  brethren  just  before  his 
death :  — 

"  My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt ! 
Oil,  may  thy  will  be  mine ! 
Into  thy  hand  of  love 
I  would  my  all  resign ! " 

5.  The  last  rule  of  giving  up  which  we 
have  room  for  is  that  time,  ease,  and  money 
must  all  be  held  tributary  to  Christ.  In  these 
days  of  stylish  equipage  and  social  extrava- 
gance, how  few  Christians  are  willing  to  give 


GIVING    UP FOR    CHRIST.  67 

up  to  Jesus  the  key  to  their  purses  and  bank- 
safes  !  Too  many  go  through  the  solemn 
farce  of  writing  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord  "  on 
their  property,  and  then  using  it  for  their  own 
gratification.  Every  servant  of  Christ  should 
systematically  bestow  at  least  one  tenth  of  his 
annual  income  in  Christian  charities,  and  as 
much  more  as  he  or  she  can  afford  without 
robbing  others.  What  child  of  God  was  ever 
bankrupted  by  benevolence  ? 

It  is  harder  to  give  up  ease  than  money. 
Personal  exertion  to  save  sinners,  to  do  disa- 
greeable duties,  and  to  "keep  at  it"  in  up-hill 
work,  is  one  of  the  severest  tests  of  self- 
denying  godliness.  Blessed  is  that  disciple 
who  can  say,  "It  is  my  meat  to  do  my  Mas- 
ter's will,  and  to  finish  the  work  which  he 
gave  me  to  do."  He  goes  on  giving  up  — 
and  giving  up  for  Christ  until  his  dying  hour ; 
and  then  when  he  gets  to  heaven  he  will  find 
that  what  he  "lost  for  Christ's  sake"  has 
been  saving  up  for  him,  to  be  his  everlasting 
treasure  in  glory. 


THE  GEACE  THAT  PINCHES. 


nPHE  prevailing  sin  of  the  day  is  self-indul- 
gence. It  is  eating  like  a  canker  into 
the  life  of  many  of  our  churches.  It  leaves 
Christ's  ministers  to  address  empty  pews  on 
unpleasant  Sabbaths.  It  robs  Christ's  treasury 
to  keep  up  a  showy  "  turn  out."  If  it  hangs 
a  bough  of  profession  over  on  the  c7mrc/i-side 
of  the  dividing  wall,  yet  its  roots  are  deep 
down  in  the  soil  of  the  world.  It  is  often 
ready  to  deny  Christ  —  but  seldom  ready  to 
deny  itself. 

The  most  unpopular  doctrine  to  preach  in 
these  times,  and  the  hardest  one  to  practise, 
is  the  old-fashioned  apostolic  doctrine  of  self 
denial.  This  is  the  grace  that  pinches.  The 
daily  battle  of  Christian  principle  is  with  that 
artful,  subtle,  greedy   sinner,  self     And  the 


THE    GRACE    THAT    PINCHES.  69 

highest  victory  of  our  religion  is  to  follow 
Jesus  over  the  rugged  path  of  self-denial. 
This  is  mainly  to  be  done  in  the  little  every- 
day acts  of  life.  The  great  occasions  that 
demand  sublime  sacrifice  are  few  and  rare. 

The  Christian  who  suppresses  a  jest  or  a 
witticism  because  it  would  burlesque  his  re- 
ligion practises  self-denial.  When  he  speaks 
out  a  bold  but  unpopular  word  for  the  right,  — 
in  "  fashionable  society,"  —  he  is  really  taking 
up  a  cross  for  his  Master.  All  genuine  acts 
of  philanthropy  are  born  of  the  noble  princi- 
ple to  deny  self,  and  to  honor  Christ  in  the 
persons  of  those  for  w^hom  Christ  suffered. 

The  mission-school  teacher,  who  sallies  off 
in  the  driving  storm  to  carry  his  gospel-loaf  to 
a  group  of  hungry  children,  is  an  example  of 
this.  "  Why  should  I  sit  by  the  warm  fire  on 
my  sofa  to-day]  Christ  will  look  for  me 
among  my  class."  The  seamstress  who  drops 
her  hard-earned  dollar  into  the  missionary 
collection  is  really  enthroning  her  Saviour 
above  herself.  Those  educated  Northern  girls 
who   went   South   to  teach  ragged   freedmen 


70  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

their  alphabet  and  the  Bible  are  truer  ladies 
in  God's  sight  than  all  the  self-pampering 
belles,  who  air  their  fineries  on  Fifth  Avenue. 

We  cannot  emphasize  too  strongly  this 
grace  which  pinches  selfishness.  I  care  not 
how  orthodox  is  a  man's  creed,  or  how  elo- 
quent may  be  his  prayers  in  public,  if  he  has 
never  learned  to  say  "  7io  "  to  the  demands  of 
fashion,  and  pride,  and  luxury,  he  is  but  a 
sorry  specimen  of  the  Christ-man. 

What  a  touching  lesson  of  self-denial  we 
behold  in  every  crutch  and  in  every  "  empty 
sleeve  "  of  those  heroes  in  blue  Avhom  we  yet 
meet  on  all  our  public  thoroughfares  !  These 
noble  men  counted  not  their  limbs  dear,  if 
only  the  nation  might  be  saved,  and  freedom 
might  triumph.  Yet  there  are  thousands  of 
professed  Christians  who  are  unwilling  to 
deny  themselves  the  paltry  gratification  of  a 
glass  of  wine  or  ale  in  order  to  help  the  senti 
ment  of  total  abstinence  to  become  popular, 
or  to  aid  in  saving  the  "  weak  brother  who 
stumbleth."  They  know  they  are  setting  a 
bad    example    when    they   use    or   ofi'er   the 


THE    GRACE    THAT    PINCHES.  71 

poison-cup.  They  know  that  they  are  throw- 
ing their  influence  on  the  side  of  the  tipplers. 
Yet  because  it  is  "  genteel "  to  partake  of 
wine  or  punch,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  "  take 
a  drop "  in  the  social  circle.  Perhaps  they 
thrust  the  decanter  before  some  weak,  tempt- 
able  friend,  to  his  everlasting  damnation  !  If 
the  drunkard  shall  "  not  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,"  what  right  has  a  professed  Chris- 
tian to  ask  to  be  admitted  to  heaven  if  he  has 
helped  to  make  a  drunkard  of  his  neighbor? 
I  fear  that  God  will  say  to  the  "  pious " 
tempter,  —  "  That  man's  blood  will  I  require 
at  thy  hands."  Paul  acted  with  a  truer  spirit 
of  Christ  when  he  uttered  the  noble  precept, 
"  It  is  good  not  to  drink  wine  whereby  my 
brother  stumbleth." 

Brethren !  Let  us  pray  for  the  grace  that 
pinches.  If  it  "goes  against  the  grain,"  all 
the  better.  If  it  wounds  our  pride,  so  much 
the  better.  If  it  makes  us  look  "  singular," 
let  us  remember  that  we  are  commanded  to  be 
a  ^''peculiar  people,"  and  not  to  look  like  the 
votaries  of  Satan,     Brave  old  Dr.  Wisner  — 


72  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

who  went  home  the  other  day  to  glory  —  was 
once  the  most  singular  man  in  the  village  of 
Ithaca.  He  dared  to  stand  alone.  He  was 
ever  ready  to  testify  on  the  Lord's  side,  on 
which  he  had  planted  himself  so  valiantly. 

Oh  for  a  new  baptism  of  self-denial !  Oh 
for  a  new  training  in  that  lesson  which  our 
dying  Master  taught  us, —  which  apostles  and 
martyrs  echoed  from  the  prison  cells,  and 
kindled  stakes,  —  the  sublime  lesson  that  — 

"  Not  to  ourselves  alone, 
Not  to  the  flesh  we'll  live, 
Kot  to  the  world  henceforth  shall  we 
Our  strength  and  being  give  ! 

No  longer  be  our  life 

A  selfish  thing,  or  vain : 

For  us,  even  here,  to  live  be  Christ; 

For  us  to  die  is  gain ! " 


THE  EICH  SOUL. 


«  Rich  toward  God."  —  Luke  xii.  21. 

"  \\ /"HAT  is  he  worth  1 "  Used  in  its  full 
^  ^  significance,  this  would  be  the  most 
pregnant,  the  most  just,  and  the  most  com- 
prehensive question  that  could  be  propounded 
in  regard  to  any  immortal  being.  When  asked 
in  the  ordinary  way,  it  simply  means.  How 
large  are  his  estates'?  how  much  gold  has  he 
in  his  bank-vaults  ]  And  the  ordinary  answer 
would  be,  "The  man  is  worth  twenty  thousand, 
or  a  hundred  thousand  dollars."  Then  we  can 
only  say  that  he  will  have  twenty  thousand  or 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  account  for  at 
the  bar  of  God.  Then  will  he  be  either  the 
happy  reaper  of  immortal  joys  when  every 
well-employed  coin  shall  nod  like  a  golden  ear 
in  the  full  sheaf  of  his  heavenly  harvest ;  or 
else  he  must  meet  thousands  of  scorpions  to 

4 


74  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

torment  his  soul  through  his  dreary  eternity 
of  despair.  Is  a  man  worth  uncounted  thou- 
sands in  bullion  or  bank  stock,  in  real  estate 
or  rare  commodities  ?  Then  he  ought  to  be 
worth  a  vast  deal  to  the  community  in  which 
he  lives,  and  to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  ought  to  be  worth  —  bread  to  the  hungry, 
schooling  to  the  ignorant,  Bibles  to  the  unevan- 
gelized,  and  mission  schools  to  the  heathen 
children  at  our  doors.  He  ought  to  be  rich 
towards  God  in  the  large  and  liberal  employ- 
ment of  his  high  stewardship. 

For  not  every  rich  man  is  "  rich  toward 
God."  Else  our  Saviour  would  not  have 
uttered  the  parable  from  which  our  text  is 
taken.  He  probably  had  in  his  mind  just 
such  a  person  as  I  could  easily  find  in  a  ten 
minutes'  walk  through  this  commercial  city,  — 
a  self-complacent  Croesus,  shrivelled  in  soul, 
but  corpulent  in  purse ;  a  man  in  whom 
avarice  has  devoured  all  the  other  appetites 
of  the  heart,  as  voracious  sharks  gulp  down 
whole  shoals  of  smaller  fish  ;  one  who  could 
call  up   his  immortal  part,  and  address  it  in 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  75 

the  same  spirit  in  which  he  would  talk  to  a 
silken-haired  pet  spaniel,  "  Now,  my  little 
soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  thy- 
self!  "  Not  for  others,  observe.  Not  for  God. 
But  for  thyself.  "  Now  eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry.  Satiate  thyself.  Feast  thy  eyes  on 
full  barns,  full  board,  full  bags,  full  bank- 
vaults.  Gloat  over  them.  They  are  all 
thine.  Never  will  I  be  so  weak-headed  as 
to  be  cheated  out  of  them,  —  never  so  weak- 
hearted  as  to  squander  them  on  foolish  chari 
ties."  "  Tlioit  fool !  ''  thunders  the  voice  of 
God  above  him,  —  "  thou  fool,  this  night  thy 
soul  shall  be  required  of  thee  :  then  whose 
shall  those  things  be  which  thou  hast  pro- 
vided {  " 

This  terrible  satire  of  divine  indignation  is 
not  expended  upon  the  subject  of  this  parable, 
because  he  was  rich  in  earthly  goods.  The 
Bible  has  no  controversy  with  men  of  wealth. 
It  never  discourages  the  acquisition  of  gold,  as 
long  as  the  heart  owns  the  gold,  and  the  gold 
does  not  own  the  heart.  The  anathema  of  the 
parable  is  not  against  riches,  but  against  self- 


1  b  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

isJmess,  the  mammon-worship  which  de- 
thrones Jehovah.  And  by  as  much  as  this 
selfishness  is  the  selfishness  of  wealth,  by  just 
so  much  is  it  the  more  abominable  and  hateful. 
For  when  God  makes  an  individual  worth  tens 
of  thousands,  and  he  makes  himself  worth  less 
than  nothing  to  his  Creator  and  his  fellow-men, 
God  will  curse  such  selfishness  with  the  most 
crushing  condemnation.  Even  at  the  bar  of 
final  judgment,  one  test-question  will  be,  in 
regard  to  you  and  to  me,  and  to  every  man, 
"  How  much  is  he  w^orth,  —  w^orth  to  his 
Saviour  and  the  Saviour's  cause  1  How  much 
has  he  been  worth  to  his  fellow-men  1 "  In 
that  great  day  of  decision  I  should  like  to 
stand  up  as  the  pastor  of  a  rich  church, — 
exceeding  rich  in  faith  and  good  works.  If 
so,  you  must  begin  now,  with  a  holy  covetous- 
ness.  to  lay  up  spiritual  and  eternal  treasures. 
Let  me  point  out  to  you  a  few  simple  rules 
for  becoming  "  rich  toward  God." 

I.  And,  first,  let  me  remind  you  that  every 
soul  on  earth  is   horn  poor.     There  is  no 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  1  / 

exemption  from  this  hard  lot.  Whether  ia 
royal  nurseries,  Avhere  the  heir  to  the  throne 
is  well-nigh  smothered  in  down,  or  in  the 
pauper's  thatched  hovel,  every  immortal  soul 
begins  its  existence  poor.  Sin  spares  not  a 
solitary  child  of  Adam.  Sin  writes  its  moral 
poverty  on  every  occupant  of  every  cradle. 
As  the  emptiness  of  the  purse  makes  one 
poor  financially,  so  the  entire  emptiness  of 
the  heart  as  to  all  holy  emotions,  holy  desires, 
and  purposes,  constitutes  our  native  moral 
poverty.  Who  would  go  to  the  ragged  urchin 
in  the  Industrial  School  for  a  loan '?  Yet  it 
would  be  quite  as  wise  to  expect  a  depraved 
heart  to  give  forth  what  it  has  never  yet 
possessed,  —  one  pure,  holy  emotion. 

How  then  can  any  soul  become  rich  toward 
God  ?  He  does  not  inherit  spiritual  wealth, 
but  rather  the  entire  and  most  pitiable  want 
of  it.  He  inherits  guilt.  He  inherits  evil 
passions.  Noble  faculties  and  capacities  are 
his  inheritance,  but  not  one  particle  of  native 
grace  comes  with  them.  The  more  gifted  in 
intellect,  the  more  dangerous  will  he  become, 


78  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

if  those  mental  powers  are  wholly  uncon- 
trolled by  the  law  of  God.  Without  grace, 
he  is  a  guilty  creature  on  earth  and  a  lost 
creature  through  eternity. 

He  must  begin  then  on  that  grace,  —  on 
God's  free  gift  to  him  through  Christ.  Just 
as  a  liberal  father  establishes  his  son  in  com- 
mercial business  by  furnishing  him  a  certain 
sura  as  his  capital,  so  (if'  we  may  thus  speak) 
our  heavenly  Father  gives  the  new  heart  as  a 
Christian  capital.  This  is  the  starting-point. 
As  soon  as  converting  grace  enters  the  soul  its 
condition  changes.  At  that  moment,  by  that 
act,  the  seeking  sinner  becomes  the  forgiven, 
the  accepted,  the  adopted  heir  of  God.  And 
the  religious  principle  then  implanted  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  the  spiritual  capital  with  which 
the  new-made  heir  begins  his  stewardship. 
Sometimes  this  capital  is  furnished  in  child- 
hood or  in  early  youth,  and  then  a  long 
"  threescore  and  ten  "  witnesses  the  growth 
of  that  soul  into  vast  possessions.  Some- 
times a  person  begins  late  in  life  ;  and  then, 
like  those  who  mistake  their  secular  callings 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  79 

and  only  get  hold  of  the  right  occupation  at 
forty,  he  seldom  becomes  a  spiritual  million- 
naire.  In  fact,  he  does  not  get  far  beyond  his 
original  capital.  It  is  hard  work  to  make  a 
"  first-class  ''  Christian  out  of  an  aged  sinner. 
Old  habits  of  sin  have  become  inveterate. 
The  best  soil  of  the  heart  has  been  worn 
out  in  growing  enormous  crops  of  tares. 
There  is  a  want  of  spring  and  pliability  in  an 
old  man's  temperament;  he  does  not  readily 
adapt  himself  to  new  positions  and  new  duties. 
As  the  merchants  who  have  accumulated  the 
most  gigantic  fortunes  are  commonly  those 
who  began  to  be  rich  before  thirty,  so  the 
richest  Christians  are  usually  to  be  found 
among  the  converts  of  the  Bible-class  room 
and  the  Sabbath  school.  Begin  young,  my 
friends,  if  you  would  attain  to  great  riches. 
Those  who  are  no  longer  young  may  still  be 
saved  if  they  will  come  heartily  to  Jesus  ; 
but  I  doubt  if  they  often  do  much  towards 
savins:  others.  God  reserves  the  hiofhest  re- 
ward  to  those  who  enlist  the  earliest,  and 
serve  the  hardest  and  the  longest. 


80  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

II,  In  the  second  place,  let  me  remind  you 
that  lie  who  would  amass  large  wealth  must 
not  sit  down  content  with  his  original  capital. 
He  makes  investments.  He  plants  his  gold  in 
a  well-tilled  farm,  or  sends  it  seaward  in  strong- 
bottomed  ships,  or  sets  it  to  spinning  new  for- 
tunes in  the  factory.  He  must  venture  what 
he  has,  if  he  would  gain  more. 

Even  so  in  the  spiritual  world  that  professor 
is  but  a  lean,  poverty-stricken  starveling,  who 
never  gets  beyond  the  infantile  condition  in 
which  he  stood  for  the  first  time  at  Christ's 
table.  Such  professors  there  be  in  every 
church.  Their  single  talent  is  hidden  in  a 
napkin,  —  a  very  small  napkin.  What  God 
bestowed  upon  them  at  the  time  of  conversion 
is  all  that  they  have  now :  if  there  has  been 
any  change,  it  has  been  rather  a  reduction 
than  a  growth.  Such  began  small,  —  the} 
continue  smaller.  They  never  were  any  thing 
but  rivulets,  trickling  with  slender  thread  of 
water  among  the  barren  stones,  at  the  mercy 
of  every  August  drought,  and  well-nigh  drunk 
up  by  every  thirsty  noonday  sun.     Year  after 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  81 

year  tliey  trickle  —  trickle  —  trickle  —  until 
death  dries  them  up,  and  nobody  misses  them. 
They  watered  nothing  ;  they  refreshed  nobody, 
and  blessed  no  Hving  thing.  Earth  is  little  the 
poorer  for  losing  them ;  heaven  scarcely  the 
richer  for  gaining  them. 

But  a  growing  believer's  course  is  like  yon- 
der river's,  —  its  birth-place  some  secluded 
fountain  under  the  mossy  rock.  Cool  and 
clear,  it  steers  its  modest  path  whithersoever 
God  shall  lead  it,  laughing  evermore  and  leap- 
ing to  its  own  silvery  music.  For  long  we  lose 
sight  of  it.  Then  we  meet  it  again,  no  longer 
a  wayside  brook,  but  a  deep-voiced  river  beat- 
ing against  its  banks,  —  swelling  up  to  kiss 
the  marge  of  green  meadows,  —  winding 
around  the  highland's  base,  —  rolling  on  its 
majestic  march  until  it  spreads  out  into  a 
hospitable  bay,  on  whose  placid  bosom  fleets 
ride  at  anchor,  and  in  whose  azure  depths  the 
banners  of  all  nations  are  mirrored.  Such  is 
the  onflow  of  a  rich  soul,  —  every  day  widen- 
ing in  influence,  every  day  deepening  in 
experience,    every    day    running    purer    and 

4* 


82  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

purer.  To  human  eyes  such  believers  may 
move  more  slowly  as  old  age  draws  on.  But 
it  is  because  the  volume  of  their  graces  is 
increasing,  and  they  are  nearing  the  ocean  of 
eternity.  How  these  lives  gladden  the  regions 
through  which  they  pass  !  How  they  mirror 
back  the  glory  of  Christ's  gracious  handiwork ! 
How  they  bear  up  human  hopes,  and  spread 
themselves  out  like  broad,  patient  rivers,  to 
carry  all  burthens  that  are  launched  on  their 
bosoms ! 

Yet  such  a  glorious  Christian  career,  so 
beautiful  in  its  daily  flow,  and  so  beneficent 
in  its  results,  is  only  the  original  grace  of 
conversion  employed  at  compound  interest. 
This  mighty  river  of  holy  influence  is  only 
the  original  fountain  magnified.  Behold  the 
virtue  of  accumulation!  To  this  the  apostle 
exhorted  when  he  urged  his  brethren  to 
"  grow  in  grace."  To  accumulate  soul- wealth 
for  God  is  the  purport  of  that  apostolic  injunc- 
tion,— "  Add  to  your  faith,  virtue  ;  and  to  vir- 
tue, knowledge;  and  to  knowledge,  temper- 
ance ;    and  to  temperance,  patience ;  and  to 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  83 

patience,  godliness  ;  and  to  godliness,  broth- 
erly kindness;  and  to  brotherly  kindness,  char- 
ity." Brethren,  I  repeat  and  re -enforce  the 
exhortation  :  Grow  in  grace.  Expand.  Ab- 
sorb every  down-pouring  of  heavenly  influ- 
ence. Catch  every  descending  drop  of  spiritual 
blessing.  Open  your  hearts  to  every  stream  of 
Bible  knowledge.  Be  filled  with  the  fulness 
of  Christ.  So  shall  ye  be  neither  empty  nor 
unfruitful,  but  "  always  abounding  in  the  work 
of  the  liOrd." 

III.  This  leads  me,  in  the  third  place,  to 
speak  of  the  methods  of  spiritual  wealth- 
getting.  How  shall  a  believer  become  "  rich 
toward  God  "  ]  We  answer  that  the  rules  for 
securing  success  in  secular  affairs  will  apply  to 
the  advancement  of  the  soul  in  grace.  The 
real  currency  in  commerce  is  metallic,  the 
broad  earth  over.  And  the  gold  and  silver 
which  make  up  the  basis  of  personal  wealth 
are  the  product  of  the  mines  ;  each  glittering 
coin  the  result  of  the  miner's  hard  toil  with 
sieve  or  with  mattock.     Now,  the  currency  of 


84  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

God's  kingdom  is  truth ;  and  the  Bible  is  the 
ore-bed.  To  every  one  of  you  this  mine  is 
open.  He  must  be  a  blind  or  a  careless  miner 
who  does  not  come  out  of  this  inexhaustible 
ore-bed  with  some  new  and  massive  "  nugget" 
as  the  result  of  every  hour's  research.  Do  you 
consider  every  bank  solvent,  whose  vaults  are 
the  hiding-place  of  solid  bullion,  amply  suffi- 
cient to  meet  its  liabilities  ?  So  is  he  a  sol- 
vent Christian  whose  secret  soul  is  stored  with 
gospel  principles,  all  coined  and  stamped  for 
daily  use.  Nor  should  any  Christian  ask 
credit  any  further  than  he  can  fully  redeem 
his  promises  and  professions  by  the  "  ready 
money"  of  consistent  godly  conduct. 

To  make  a  rich  believer,  something  more 
than  faith  is  needed.  More,  too,  than  scrip- 
tural knowledge.  There  must  be  also  —  ex- 
perience. Ah,  this  is  a  costly  possession! 
Nothing  is  bought  so  dear ;  and  yet  it  is  worth 
all  it  costs  us.  This  is  a  part  of  the  soul's 
wealth  that  no  one  can  purchase  for  us ;  no 
dearest  friend  can  make  it  over  to  us  as  a  gift. 
We  must  "  go  and  buy  for  ourselves,"  and  ex- 
orbitant is  the  price  we  often  pay  for  it. 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  ^5 

There  are  sometimes  rare  and  beautiful 
wares  brought  into  the  market  that  are  in- 
voiced at  almost  fabulous  rates.  Ignorant 
people  wonder  why  they  are  priced  so  high. 
The  simple  reason  is  that  they  cost  so  much 
to  procure.  That  luxurious  article  labelled 
£200  was  procured  by  the  adventurous  hunter, 
who,  at  the  hazard  of  his  neck,  brought  down 
the  wild  mountain-goat,  out  of  whose  glossy 
hair  the  fabric  was  wrought.  Yonder  pearl 
that  flashes  on  the  brow  of  the  bride  is  pre- 
cious, because  it  was  rescued  from  the  great 
deep  at  the  risk  of  the  pearl-fishers  life,  as 
he  was  lifted  into  the  boat  half  dead,  with  the 
blood  gushing  from  his  nostrils.  Yonder 
ermine,  flung  so  carelessly  over  the  proud 
beauty's  shoulder,  cost  terrible  battles  with 
Polar  \r^  and  hurricane.  All  choicest  things 
are  recivoned  the  dearest.  So  is  it,  too,  in 
Heaven's  inventories.  The  universe  of  God 
has  never  witnessed  aus^ht  to  be  reckoned  in 
comparison  with  the  redemption  of  a  guilty 
world.  That  mighty  ransom  no  such  con- 
temptible things  as  silver  and  gold  could  pro- 


86  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

cure.  Only  by  one  price  could  the  Church  of 
God  be  redeemed  from  hell,  and  that  the 
precious  blood  of  the  Lamb,  —  the  Lamb  with- 
out blemish  or  spot,  —  the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world. 

And  so  is  it  that  the  best  part  of  a  Christian 
character  is  that  which  was  procured  at  the 
sorest  cost.  Patience  is  a  beautiful  trait,  but 
it  is  not  worn  oftenest  by  those  who  walk  on 
life's  sunny  side  in  silver  slippers.  It  is  the 
product  of  dark  nights  of  tempest,  and  of 
those  days  of  adversity  whose  high  noon  is  but 
a  midnight.  For  "  the  trial  of  your  faith 
worketh  patience."  Purity  of  soul  is  like 
purity  in  gold,  where  the  hottest  fires  turn  out 
the  most  refined  and  precious  metals  from  the 
crucible.  Joseph  found  his  crucible  in  an 
Egyptian  prison  ;  but  he  came  out  thence  with 
the  soul  of  a  virgin.  Purity  of  character  is 
often  bought  in  this  wicked  city  by  the  bitter 
price  of  a  crust  of  bread  eaten  with  a  good 
conscience  in  an  attic ;  when  a  guilty  conniv 
ance  would  have  been  rewarded  with  French 
satins  and  a  harlot's  sumptuous  couch. 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  87 

The  knowledge  of  our  own  besetting  sins  is 
a  knowledge  w^e  all  crave.  We  imagine  that 
we  would  be  willing  to  pay  liberally  for  the  in- 
sight into  our  own  hearts  which  shall  reveal  all 
our  weak  points,  not  knowing  how  soon  some 
unexpected  emergency  might  develop  some 
foible  or  some  vice  of  character  hitherto  un- 
suspected. But  men  have  paid  dearly  for  such 
discoveries.  David  paid  for  his  self-knowledge 
with  the  life  of  a  darling  child  and  a  broken 
heart ;  Hezekiah  paid  for  his  by  the  weari- 
some sufferings  of  a  sick- chamber ;  Peter  for 
his  by  the  bitter  agonies  in  Pilate's  garden. 
But  the  discoveries  were  w^orth  all  they  cost. 
Among  God's  jewels,  there  is  no  brilliant 
which  flashes  with  such  lustre  as  the  tear  of 
true  penitence.  Yet  God  only  knoweth  what 
heart-pressure,  as  in  a  vice,  —  what  wringings 
and  rendings  of  soul,  w^hat  crushings  of  pride, 
and  wrestlings  of  agony,  —  may  have  been 
needful  in  order  to  press  out  that  jewel-drop 
upon  the  cheek  of  the  stubborn  sufferer  !  We 
have  sometimes  met  with  a  person  in  social 
circles,  who  possessed  a  peculiar  gentleness 


88  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

and  docility  of  character.  As  we  came  to 
know  her  better,  we  were  amazed  and  charmed 
by  her  calm  self-poise,  and  her  heroic  submis- 
siveness  to  God  under  sudden  shocks  of  calam- 
ity. We  admired  so  beautiful  a  character. 
We  envied  its  possessor.  We  coveted  such  a 
spirit  for  ourselves.  Ah,  we  little  knew  at 
what  fearful  price  of  severe  chastisements 
and  bitter  disappointments,  of  hopes  desolated 
and  expectations  crossed,  of  faith  put  to  the 
rack,  and  patience  burned  bright  in  seven- 
times-heated  furnaces,  all  that  meek  loveli- 
ness of  character  had  been  gained !  So  true 
is  it,  dear  brethren,  that  he  is  the  most  rich 
toward  God  who  is  ready  to  toil  the  hardest, 
and  to  bear  the  most  to  gain  his  acquisition. 

To  be  truly  rich,  all  these  graces  of  pa- 
tience and  purity  and  meekness  and  long- 
suffering  are  indispensable.  Cost  what  they 
will,  they  must  be  attained.  By  prayer  and 
by  practice  they  must  be  sought  after,  and  so 
sought  as  to  secure  them.  He  is  a  meagre. 
crude,  unfinished,  unripe,  and  unimpressive 
Christian  who  does  not  possess  those  peculiar 


THE   RICH    SOUL.  89 

graces  wliicli  are  only  to  be  won  by  suffering 
and  trial.     Do  not  draw  back  from  the  posses- 
sion of  any  spiritual  treasure,  I  beseech  you, 
from  the  dread  of  paying  dearly  for  it.     The 
worldling  withholds  no  toil,  no  sacrifices  that 
are  needful   to    secure  his    coveted   gains   or 
honors.     The    merchant   begrudges   not    the 
evenings  spent  away  from  his  own  fireside,  if 
those  extra   hours  over  his  ledgers  will  give 
but  an  extra  dividend  of  profits.    The  sculptor 
counts  not  the  long  months  wasted  which  see 
him  with  hammer  and  chisel  pursuing  the  im- 
prisoned figure  which   his    keen  eye  detects 
within  the  block  of  Parian  marble.     And  the 
children  of  light  must  carry  into  their  service 
of  Christ  the  same  untiring  ardor,  the  same 
zeal,  and  the  same    self-denial  by  which  the 
children  of  the  world  win  wealth  and  honor 
and  emoluments.     Oh  for  a  holy  enthusiasm ! 
—  a  holy  covetousness  to  become  rich  toward 
God! 

IV.  The   fourth   and   last  principle  that  I 
shall  present  is,  that  whoever  would  become 


90  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

rich  in  spiritual  treasure  must  give  away 
hountifully.  This  is  the  truest  paradox  in 
Christian  economy.  He  that  saves  for  self 
only  loses  :  he  that  loses  for  Christ's  sake  is 
sure  to  save.  Would  you  grow  rich  toward 
God?  Then  learn  to  give.  God  loveth  a 
cheerful  giver.  Nor  do  I  limit  this  rule  to 
the  donation  of  the  purse.  The  mere  gift  of 
gold  is  but  a  part  of  Christian  benevolence, 
though  by  no  means  an  unimportant  part.  I 
often  wish  that  I  were  the  possessor  of  the 
wealth  of  Henry  Thornton  or  Amos  Law- 
rence, provided  that  I  had  always,  too,  the 
wealth  of  heart-love  to  do  good  that  those 
princely  men  had.  But  a  rich  soul  can  be 
always  giving;  as  the  noonday  sun  overflows 
his  golden  urn  of  ceaseless  radiance,  and  is  yet 
none  the  poorer  in  warmth  and  glory  when  a 
whole  universe  has  been  lighted. 

We  must  freely  give  of  every  thing  that  we 
have  freely  received  from  the  Lord.  If  we 
have  the  heart  to  pray,  let  us  give  of  our 
prayers.  No  legacy  that  a  rich  father  could 
have  left  me  would  compare  in  value  with  my 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  91 

widowed  mother's  prayers  for  me  at  the  mercy- 
seat.  You  that  have  acquired  the  wisdom 
which  age  and  experience  confer  can  give 
those  counsels  Avliich  are  apples  of  gold  in 
baskets  of  silver  to  the  young,  the  inexperi- 
enced, and  the  unfortunate.  Give  your  per- 
sonal labors,  too,  for  Christ.  Many  a  rich 
man  seeks  to  compound  with  his  conscience 
by  bestowing  bank- checks  in  lieu  of  his  own 
presence  in  the  mission  school,  the  prayer- 
meetings,  or  the  abodes  of  suffering.  O  man 
of  wealth !  God  gave  thee  that  very  leisure 
thou  enjoy  est  in  order  to  do  the  very  work 
of  charity  which  thy  poorer,  hard-toiling 
neighbor  has  no  time  to  perform.  Those  that 
have  not  money,  or  counsel,  or  charitable  deeds 
to  bestow,  can  at  least  afford  a  godly  example. 
And  so  a  godly  life  may  be,  from  first  to  last, 
all  expenditure ;  just  as  the  temple  lamps  con- 
sumed themselves  away  in  giving  light.  But 
the  life  and  the  heart  grow  the  fuller,  the 
brighter,  the  stronger,  the  more  they  expend. 
What  were  rich-souled  Christians  given  to  the 
world  for  but  to  be  reservoirs  of  blessings  ? 


92  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

Happy  is  the  man  who  can  bring  the  very 
atmosphere  of  heaven  with  him  whenever  he 
approaches  us !  —  who  acts  upon  our  spirits 
as  the  May  breezes  act  upon  the  first  shoots 
of  the  tulip  and  the  violet !  He  is  a  bountiful 
giver.  He  confers  on  us  light;  he  beams 
goodness  into  our  souls ;  he  teaches  us  pa- 
tience ;  he  showers  on  us  brotherly  kindness ; 
he  illustrates  for  us  faith ;  he  exhibits  the  true 
beauty  of  meekness ;  he  sheds  hope  by  his 
very  presence,  and  his  unflinching  bravery 
has  often  been  an  inspiration  of  valor  to  our 
failing  hearts.  Next  to  Christ  himself,  there 
is  no  blessing  to  the  community  like  a  Christ- 
like Christian. 

My  dear  reader,  I  covet  for  you  the  best 
gifts.  Ask  of  God  who  giveth  liberally  that 
ye  all  be  rich,  —  rich  in  faith,  rich  in  good 
works,  rich  in  revenues  of  joy,  rich  in  heart 
holiness  and  the  love  of  Jesus.  And  then, 
although  your  frame  be  wrapped  in  coarse 
raiment,  your  soul  shall  be  enfolded  in  the 
shining  garniture  of  Christ's  righteousness. 
Though    your    dwelling-place    be    so    lowly, 


THE    RICH    SOUL.  93 

yet  your  heaven-seeking  affection  may  be  at 
home  in  the  celestial  courts  before  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  Although  your 
purse  be  scanty,  your  heart  will  be  a  pnilace 
whose  chambers  are  filled  with  "  all  pleasant 
and  all  precious  riches."  So  shall  you  be 
made  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance 
of  the  saints  in  light. 


THE  HONEST   DISCIPLE. 


OOME  characters  in  the  Bible  are  painted 
with  a  single  stroke.  Enoch,  the  stanch 
old  patriarch  who  walked  with  God ;  Caleb 
the  faithful,  "  who  followed  the  Lord /w%; 
Dorcas,  who  made  the  needle  sacred ;  Onesi- 
phorus,  the  model  gentleman,  who  pft  refreshed 
Paul  and  ''  was  not  ashamed  of  his  chain ; " 
Demas,  the  deserter  from  duty,  —  all  these  and 
many  others  owe  their  peculiar  immortality  to 
a  mere  line  or  two  of  Holy  Writ. 

One  of  these  striking  characters  of  whom 
we  would  like  to  know  more  is  Nathanael,  of 
Cana.  The  main  facts  that  w^e  gain  about  him 
are  that  he  dwelt  in  the  village  where  Christ 
turned  pure  water  into  pure  wine ;  and  it  is 
possible  that  he  was  the  bridegroom  at  that 
famous  wedding.  His  name  in  Hebrew  has 
the   same  significance  with  Theodore  in  the 


THE    HONEST    DISCIPLE.  95 

Greek,  —  "  the  Gift  of  God."  Perhaps  his 
mother  Kiid  his  name  on  the  little  head  of  her 
new-born  darling  in  especial  gratitude  for  a 
child  whose  coming  she  regarded  as  a  special 
mercy.  Would  that  we  all  so  recognized  God's 
hand  in  the  bestowal  of  children  that  we  could 
write  beside  each  name  in  the  family-record, 
"J.  gift  of  God  to  my  heart,  and  therefore  not 
to  be  given  by  me  to  the  Devil ! " 

Every  good  man  is  God's  boon  to  society ; 
but  this  Nathanael's  especial  trait  was  down- 
right sincerity.  He  was  an  honest  man.  When 
his  friend  Philip  invites  him  to  come  and  follow 
Jesus,  he  rather  bluntly  inquires, "  Can  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  %  "  Not  merely  did 
he  mean  by  this  that  the  Nazarenes  were  a  dis- 
reputable set ;  but  he  was  too  close  a  student  of 
the  Jewish  Scriptures  not  to  know  that  the 
Messiah  was  predicted  to  make  his  appear- 
ance in  Bethlehem  of  Judea  (not  in  Galilee). 
Philip's  curt  and  sensible  reply  is,  "  Come  and 
see."  This  is  the  conclusive  argument,  after 
all.  The  only  satisfactory  test  of  Christianity 
is  the  test  of  personal  examination  and  per* 


96  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

sonal  experiment.  Come  and  see  Jesus  for 
yourself!  Come  and  try  him  for  yourself. 
There  are,  some  truths  which,  like  good  medi- 
cines, must  be  taken  in  order  to  be  trusted,  as 
well  as  trusted  in  order  to  be  taken.  Of  such 
truths,  the  pre-eminent  is  a  divine,  incarnate 
Redeemer.  Friend,  if  you  want  to  know 
Christ's  ineffable  beauty,  come  and  see  him ; 
if  you  want  to  know  his  pardoning  love  and 
sustaining  power,  come  and  obey  him.  Do 
his  will,  if  you  would  know  of  his  doctrine. 
I  never  heard  of  an  infidel  who  had  fairly 
tried  the  experiment  of  living  out  the  religion 
of  Christ  Jesus. 

Philip's  request  was  obeyed;  and  when 
Jesus  saw  Nathanael  coming  to  him,  he  said 
of  him, "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed  m  whom  is 
no  guile  I "  It  is  as  if  he  had  said.  Behold  a  man 
of  faith  and  of  frank  sincerity.  Christ  does 
not  pronounce  Nathanael  to  be  absolutely  sin- 
less. And  if  Nathanael  had  so  pretended,  he 
would  not  have  been  guileless ;  for  if  we  say 
we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the 
truth  is  not  in  us.     Nathanael  was  an  honest 


THE    HONEST    DISCIPLE.  97 

Israelite,  a  man  of  faith,  a  man  ot  prayer,  and 
above  all  a  man  above  shams  and  false  pre- 
tences. Even  when  Jesus  pronounced  him 
"  without  guile,"  he  did  not  begin  to  stammer 
out  any  self-depreciating  cant :  "  Lord,  you 
give  me  too  much  credit ;  I  don't  deserve  to 
be  called  an  honest  man.  I  am  only  a  miser 
able  sinner."  Nathanael  left  all  such  lying 
cant  to  those  Pharisees  of  modern  prayer- 
meetings  who  pretend  to  be  worse  than  they 
are,  in  order  to  get  credit  for  humility.  I 
believe  that  there  are  as  many  lies  told  in  self- 
depreciation  as  there  are  in  self-exaggeration. 
When  a  Christian  hioios  whom  he  has  be- 
lieved, and  knows  that  he  is  sincerely  striving 
to  follow  Jesus,  even  in  an  imperfect  fashion, 
he  has  no  moral  right  to  apply  to  himself,  in 
penitential  prayer,  the  same  words  which  de- 
scribe a  sceptic,  a  felon,  or  a  hypocrite.  Some 
people  have  a  very  sneaking  way  of  feeding 
their  self-conceit  on  phrases  of  profound  hu- 
mility. Other  people  —  and  really  sincere 
Christians  —  introduce  many  phrases  of  self- 
abasement  out  of  mere  form ;  just  as  I  have 

6 


98  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

overheard  giddy,  frivolous  girls  and  careless 
men  of  pleasure  mumble  that  solemn  litanj^, 
"  Lord,  have  mercy  on  us,  miserable  sinners  I " 
Had  I  told  them  the  same  thing  to  their  faces, 
they  would  have  grown  red  with  wrath  and 
resented  it  as  an  insult. 

Our  holy  Redeemer  had  an  intense  abhor- 
rence of  hypocrisy.  He  denounced  sancti- 
moniousness with  a  severity  that  startles  us 
in  One  so  gentle  and  compassionate.  On  no 
class  of  sinners  did  he  thunder  such  terrific 
rebukes  as  on  "  the  whited  sepulchres,"  who 
looked  fair  on  the  outside,  but  within  were  full 
of  rottenness.  Christ  emphasized  the  neces- 
sity of  consistency  between  the  faith  of  the 
heart  and  the  practice  of  the  life.  "  By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  And  where  the 
renewed  heart  is  a  sweet  fountain,  his  Word 
teaches  us  that  it  should  not  send  forth  bitter 
waters.  The  honest  accordance  of  the  heart 
that  loves  Christ  and  the  life  that  honors 
Christ  is  what  tlie  Bible  means  by  "  godly  sin- 
cerity." Those  memorable  words  of  Robertson 
of  Brighton  will   bear    to   be  quoted   again. 


THE    HONEST    DISCIPLE.  99 

"The  first  lesson  in  religion  is,  he  true;  the 
second  lesson  is,  he  true  ;  and  the  third  lesson 
still  is,  he  true.''  I  cannot  believe  that  growth 
in  grace  is  possible  to  the  man  or  woman 
whose  daily  habit  is  to  confess  a  guilt  they  do 
not  feel,  and  to  profess  a  love  for  Jesus  which 
they  do  not  experience. 

The  glory  of  Nathanael  is  that  he  was  an 
honest  disciple.  For  he  was  a  disciple,  and 
one  of  the  chosen  twelve.  His  call  to  dis- 
cipleship  w^as  similar  to  that  of  Andrew  and 
Peter.  lie  obeyed  the  call  of  Jesus,  and  did 
not  go  back  to  his  "  fig-tree,"  under  w^hich  the 
All-seeing  Eye  had  discovered  him.  In  the 
books  of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  this 
honest  brother  is  mentioned  by  his  surname 
or  second  name,  Bartholomew.  His  w^hole 
name  seems  to  have  been  Nathanael  Bar- 
tholomew, which  last  word  signifies  "  the  son 
of  Tholmai."  John,  however,  calls  him  only 
by  his  beautiful  "  Christian  name,"  the  "  Gift 
of  God." 

Philip  and  Nathanael  Bartholomew  are 
always    spoken    of   together.      They   seemed 


100  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

to  havG  grown  to  each  other  like  twins.  After 
Christ's  resurrection,  Nathanael  met  his  mas- 
ter on  the  beach  of  Galilee  ;  and  his  hand  had 
hold  of  the  net  when  the  huge  draught  of 
fishes  came  up  to  the  shore.  After  the  Ascen- 
sion, Nathanael  attended  the  prayer-meeting  in 
the  "  upper  room."  From  that  honr  we  never 
hear  of  him  again.  Tradition  says  that  he  was 
crucified  in  Armenia.  But,  w^ierever  he  died, 
we  never  hear  that  he  forfeited  that  golden 
name  which  Jesus  bound  about  his  brow: 
*'  The  Israelite  indeed  in  whom  is  no  guile.'' 


niE   FATHER   OF  EXGLISIl    IIYMXS. 


A  BOUT  the  year  1675,  a  worthy  Deacon 
Watts  who  kept  a  Puritan  boardmg- 
Bchool  in  Southampton,  England,  was  locked 
up  in  prison  for  being  an  incorrigible  Dissenter. 
It  was  during  the  reign  of  the  second  Stuart, 
which  Macaulay  has  well  styled  "  the  reign 
of  the  strumpets."  Before  the  door  of  the 
good  deacon's  cell,  his  wife  used  to  come  and 
sit  while  she  sang  for  the  comfort  of  her 
imprisoned  husband,  and  for  the  quieting  of 
her  eldest  born  baby,  which  she  held  in  her 
arms.  The  little  Isaac  must  have  been  draw- 
ing in  some  inspirations  of  his  mother's  music 
with  his  mother's  milk.  He  was  a  poet  from 
the  cradle.  His  earliest  thoughts  he  shaped 
into  rhyme. 

His   mother  offered  a  copper  prize  to  the 
children  in  her  husband's  school  for  the  best 


102  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

bit  of  poetry  they  could  produce ;  and  Master 
Isaac,  then  m  his  eighth  year,  won  the  prize 
by  4:he  following  saucy  couplet :  — 

•'  I  write  not  for  a  farthing,  but  to  trj 
How  I  your  farthing  writers  can  outvie." 

At  fifteen  the  precocious  lad  had  made 
choice  of  the  "  better  part,"  and  became  a 
follower  of  Jesus.  He  worshipped  at  the 
Independent  Church  in  Southampton,  of 
which  his  father  was  a  deacon ;  but  the 
preaching  edified  him  more  than  the  service 
of  song.  The  congregation  were  endeavor- 
ing to  praise  God  every  Sabbath  in  the 
clumsy,  jaw-breaking  measures  of  Sternhold 
and  Hopkins,  or  the  jolting  rhymes  of  Nahum 
Tate.  To  the  tuneful  ear  of  the  young  stu- 
dent this  saw-filing  process  in  the  name  ot 
sacred  psalmody  was  utterly  beyond  endurance. 
One  Sabbath  morning  (in  1702),  after  service, 
he  vented  his  contempt  for  such  ill-conditioned 
doggerel,  and  the  only  reply  he  received  was, 
"Give  us  something  better, then, young  man!" 
He    accepted    the    taunting    challenge,  went 


THE    FATHER   OF    ENGLISH    HYMNS.  103 

home,  and  produced  before  sunset  a  hymn 
which  was  lined  off,  and  sung  at  the  evening 
service.     It  began  with  the  verse  — 

*•  Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb, 
Amidst  his  Father's  throne : 
Prepare  new  honors  for  his  name. 
And  songs  before  unknown." 

The  author  was  just  eighteen  years  old; 
but  on  that  Sabbath  our  English  Hymnology 
teas  horn^  and  young  Isaac  Watts  was  its 
father.  Well  might  Montgomery  say  that  he 
"  was  almost  the  inventor  of  hymns  in  our 
language,  so  greatly  did  he  improve  on  his 
now  forgotten  predecessors  in  English  sacred 
song."  Hichard  Baxter  had  written  twenty 
years  before  his  beautiful  — 

**  Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care. 
Whether  I  die  or  live." 

But  the  single  seed-corn  did  not  sprout  into 
a  hymnologic  harvest.  Watts  had  struck  the 
Meribah-rock  of  melody,  and  the  waters  con- 
tinued to  gush  forth.  In  the  year  1707  he 
gave    to   the    churches    an   original   volume, 


104  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

entitled  "  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs,"  and 
for  the  copyright  he  received  the  munificent 
sum  of  ffty  dollars  !  If  kept  to  this  day,  it 
would  have  yielded  to  its  owners  a  solid  mil- 
lion. The  book  of  hymns  was  soon  followed 
by  another  entitled  "  The  Psalms  of  David 
imitated  in  the  language  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment." In  this  second  volume  appeared  the 
famous  "  Old  Hundredth,"  which  began  with 
the  words  — 

"Nations,  attend  before  His  throne 
With  solemn  fear,  with  sacred  joy." 

John  Wesley  altered  these  lines  to  the 
grander  ones,  — 

•*  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 
Ye  nations,  bow  with  sacred  joy ! " 

This  stands  as  the  solitary  instance  in  which 
hymn-tinkering  has  improved  upon  the  origi- 
nal. The  man  must  indeed  rise  early  in  the 
morning  who  can  improve  upon  Isaac  Watts. 

That  he  ever  composed  any  one  sacred  song 
which  can  take  rank  beside  Toplady's  "  Rock 
of  Ages"  or  Charles  Wesley's  "  Jesus,  Lover 


THE  FATHER  OF  ENGLISH  HYMNS.     105 

of  my  soul,"  we  do  not  claim.  Those  two,  like 
the  morning  and  the  evening  star,  ride  bright- 
est in  the  firmament.  But  Isaac  Watts  wrote 
more  of  the  great  hymns  of  our  mother  tongue 
than  any  other  man.  No  lay  of  Calvary  has 
ever  yet  approached  in  pathetic  grandeur  that 
offering  which  Watts  laid  at  his  Eedeemer's 
feet :  — 

*'  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  Cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 
My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride." 

I  can  imagine  that  the  apostle  Paul  may 
have  already  thanked  Isaac  Watts  in  para- 
dise for  having  taught  the  church  how  to  sing 
his  own  immortal  declaration,  "  God  forbid  that 
I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ !  "  No  funeral  hymns  either  have 
equalled  those  which  issued  from  Watts's  pen- 
sive spirit.  How  many  of  us  can  recall  the  first 
scenes  of  burial  which  we  witnessed  in  our 
early  country  homes !  AVe  seem  to  see  again 
the  rural  neighbors  gathered  on  the  grass 
before   the   door,  while   the    sun   shimmered 

5» 


106  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

through  the  trees  upon  the  group  around 
the  open  coffin.  We  seem  to  hear  again, 
to  the  sweet  plaintive  strains  of  old  "  China," 
those  soul-melting  words  :  — 

•*  Why  should  we  tremble  to  convey 
This  body  to  the  tomb  ? 
There  the  dear  form  of  Jesus  lay, 
And  left  a  long  perfume." 

It  is  an  evidence  of  wondrous  versatility 
of  genius  that  while  Watts  composed  lines 
which  Daniel  Webster  murmured  on  his  dying- 
bed  ("  Show  pity,  Lord!  O  Lord,  forgive!"), 
he  also  wrote  the  most  perfect  child-hymns 
in  our  language.  Nothing  in  our  modern 
Sabbath-school  collections  quite  equals  the 
old  dog-eared  primer  w^hich  contained,  "  How 
doth  the  little  busy  bee,"  and  "  Whene'er  I 
take  my  walks  abroad."  Bradbury  was  good ; 
but  the  vintage  of  Watts,  nearly  two  hundred 
years  old,  is  better  still.  The  only  child-hymn 
of  our  day,  wliich  might  have  come  from 
Watts's  pen,  is  that  gem  of  sweet  simplicity,  — 

*'  Jesus  loves  me,  —  this  I  know ; 
For  the  Bible  tells  me  so : 
Little  ones  to  him  belong ; 
I  am  weak,  but  he  is  strong." 


THE    FATHER    OF    ENGLISH    HYMNS.  107 

The  author  of  "  Divine  and  Moral  Songs 
for  Children  "  was  himself  childless.  He  lived 
a  bachelor  under  the  roof  of  Sir  Thomas 
Abney,  in  London,  whom  he  went  to  visit, 
and  lingered  there  as  a  welcome  guest  for 
thirty-five  years.  In  1748  he  fell  asleep  in 
Jesus,  leaving  as  his  beautiful  posterity  seven 
hundred  white-winged  hymns.  They  are  fly- 
ing under  the  whole  heaven.  His  body  rests 
in  Bunhill  Fields,  the  Westminster  Abbey  of 
the  glorious  Puritans.  Close  by  the  gate,  and 
not  far  from  Bunyan's  grave,  is  a  plain  tomb, 
which  bears  the  name  of  Isaac  Watts,  the 
father  of  the  English  hymn. 


BEAINS,  AND  HOW  TO  USE   THEM. 

(A  Talk  with  Young  ]VIen.) 


TTOE,  what '  has  the  Creator  given  us  our 
-^  brains  ]  Why  are  affluent  mental  gifts 
bestowed  upon  some  men  ]  And  how  may 
even  moderate  abilities  be  made  most  effective 
for  the  promotion  of  truth  and  the  well-being 
of  humanity  1  These  are  questions  that  con- 
cern young  men,  especially  those  who  are 
placed  on  the  highest  planes  of  intellectual 
culture  and  influence.  All  men  are  concerned 
in  these  questions ;  for  a  great  man  is,  per- 
haps, the  greatest  fact  in  the  history  of  an 
age.  No  more  decisive  influence  can  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  any  age,  or  any  com- 
munity, than  the  employment  of  its  highest 
intellect  for  truth  or  for  error, — for  God  and 
the  right,  or  for  the  Devil's  wrong.  Intellect 
ennobled,     purified,    heaven-directed,    is    the 


BRAINS,    AND    HOW    TO    USE    THEM.  109 

universal  power  to  build  up.  Intellect  per- 
verted, corrupted,  sin-directed,  is  the  most 
terrible  of  agencies  to  pull  down  and  de- 
stroy. ''  How  shall  I  use  my  intellect  ? "  is 
the  most  vital  moral  problem  that  can  come 
before  the  court  of  your  conscience. 

Some  men  hold  that  talents  are  given  for 
the  same  purpose  that  wealth  is  often  in- 
herited, —  for  mere  personal  luxury.  There 
be  intellectual  millionnaires  who  decorate  their 
mind,  as  a  palace,  for  pride  to  walk  through. 
Its  superb  picture-galleries,  whose  walls  a 
creative  imagination  has  clothed  with  visions 
of  entrancing  beauty  ;  its  saloons  of  receptive- 
ness,  in  which  stately  thoughts  do  come 
and  go  ;  its  costly  libraries,  where  memory 
stores  up  its  massive  accumulation,  shelf 
on  shelf;  its  statue-lined  corridors  and  halls, 
—  are  but  the  splendid  realm  which  self  has 
adorned  by  the  "  might  of  its  own  power,  and 
for  the  honor  of  its  own  majesty."  Scarcely  a 
living  being  is  the  wiser,  the  better,  the  hap- 
pier, for  such  mental  monopolists.  They  stand 
in  the  midst  of  humanity  as  the  marble  man 


110  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

sion  of  a  selfish  Duke  might  stand  in  the 
midst  of  a  poverty-cursed  and  squalid  peasant- 
ry. While  the  nabob  is  gorging  at  his  rose- 
wood table,  or  lounging  before  his  Murillos, 
the  poor  Lazarus  without  is  begging  crumbs 
for  the  lean  and  hungry  brats,  such  as  Murillo 
portrayed  upon  his  canvas.  One  man  sur- 
feits :  the  others  starve.  There  is  enough  for 
all,  if  it  were  distributed.  Distribution  is 
Heaven's  law,  whether  the  treasures  be  in 
the  lordly  mansion,  or  in  the  lordly  mind. 
For  God  never  gave  to  man  fine  intellectual 
powers  —  vigorous  understanding,  strong- 
winged  imagination,  cunning  invention,  or 
soul-rousing  eloquence  —  for  the  owner's  sole 
use  and  benefit.  Talent  is  trust.  Let  no  man 
covet  it,  unless  there  come  with  it  wisdom 
from  above  to  insure  it  a  right  direction. 

One  student  uses  his  brain  —  as  he  uses  his 
midnight  lamp  —  merely  to  illuminate  the  page 
before  his  single  eye.  Another  man  makes  his 
intellect  a  meridian  sun!  How  bountifully 
does  the  full  urn  of  noonday  overflow !  Not 
only   on   Alpine   peaks,    and   "  heart   of  the 


BRAINS,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM.    Ill 

Andes,"  kindled  into  pyramids  of  fire,  but 
down  into  modest  vales  the  sunlight  falls, 
warming  the  honeysuckle  o'er  the  cottage 
doorway,  lifting  the  tiny  wheat-blade  from  its 
earthly  tomb  ;  and,  even  when  some  solitary 
daisy  is  shaded  beneath  an  overgrown  tree,  the 
generous  sun  wheels  round  and  round,  until 
before  nightfall  the  daisy  too  is  reached,  and 
fills  her  little  cup  with  golden  light.  Such  full- 
orbed  intellects  there  be.  They  turn  midnight 
into  noon.  Upon  the  most  elevated  minds  and 
the  most  favored  classes  their  rays  may  fall  the 
earliest ;  but  at  length  the  lowliest  valleys  of 
human  life  are  warmed  in  the  celestial  influ- 
ence. So  rose  the  tent-maker  of  Tarsus  upon 
a  benighted  age.  Amid  the  gloom  of  the 
sixth  century  shone  out  Augustine ;  amid 
the  prejudice  of  the  fifteenth  beamed  Chris- 
topher Columbus.  The  sixteenth  century 
came  in  with  clouds  and  darkness  on  its 
awful  front.  God  said,  "  Let  there  be  light," 
and  Luther  was  !  When  his  sun  departed 
with  its  trail  of  glory,  the  moral  heavens 
beamed,  in   turn,  with   Lord   Bacon,  Milton, 


112  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Isaac  Newton,  Leibnitz,  Pascal,  Edwards, 
Chalmers,  —  each  an  overflowing  orb  of  truth. 

Have  you  never  observed  the  descriptive 
phrase  which  Inspiration  employs  to  set  forth 
the  moral  benefactors  of  mankind  ?  The 
phrase  employed  is  the  happy  one  of  "  w^ater- 
ing,"  conveying  the  noble  thought  that  it  is 
the  office  of  great  intellect  both  to  descend 
and  to  distribute. 

In  the  torrid  lands  of  the  Orient,  it  was  the 
wont  of  monarchs  to  construct  vast  reservoirs 
on  the  mountain-sides.  These  were  filled  by 
the  rains  of  heaven.  When  the  summer-heats 
had  drank  the  gardens  and  the  vineyards  dry, 
the  w^aters  of  the  reservoir  were  conducted 
down,  and  forthwith  the  wilted  vine  lifted  its 
head  again,  and  the  drooping  fig-tree  smiled. 
Green  grew  the  pomegranate  at  the  water's 
cool  touch ;  and  golden  grew  the  barley-har- 
vest. So,  on  the  heights  of  influence,  God 
replenishes  intellectual  reservoirs.  He  fills 
them  from  on  high.  He  fills  them  to  irrigate 
the  masses  below  them.  The  truths  that  ac- 
cumulate there  will  stagnate  if  selfishness  lock 


BRAINS,    AND    IIOW    TO    USE    THEM.  113 

ap  tlic  sluice-gates.  But  let  it  be  your  ambi- 
tion to  accumulate  for  others  ;  freely  receiv- 
ing, freely  give.  Let  not  the  curse  that  rests 
on  him  who  hedges  round  his  well  in  season 
of  drought,  or  on  him  who  locks  up  his 
granary  in  time  of  famine,  rest  on  you,  for 
intellectual  stinginess :  the  meanest  of  misers 
is  he  who  hoards  a  truth. 

The  sources  of  intellectual  power  are  vari- 
ous. The  range  of  employment  for  your 
mental  attainments  will  be  as  various  also  as 
your  several  pursuits  in  life,  —  far  too  wide 
for  the  reach  of  a  single  hour's  discussion. 
But  there  are  two  sources  of  mental  power 
and  usefulness,  which  are  opened  to  every 
young  man  who  has  a  brain  to  think  or  a 
heart  to  feel.  Learning  and  Eloquence  — 
getting  the  truth  and  giving  the  truth  —  are 
the  two  most  attainable  possessions  for  every 
healthy  mind.  For  while  the  Creator  has 
bestowed  great  analytical  acumen  as  a  gift 
comparatively  rare ;  while  the  imagination, 
which  can 

*  Glance  from  Leaven  to  earth, 
From  earth  to  heaven," 


114  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

belongs  to  a  favored  few;  while  fertility  of 
invention  is  a  monopoly  of  genius,  —  yet  nearly 
every  healthy  intellect  can  acquire  truth  and 
impart  it.  Young  brethren,  every  affirmative 
man  in  your  class  (who  is  not  smitten  with 
congenital  barrenness)  may  become  measur- 
ably learned  and  measurably  eloquent.  For 
what  is  learning  but  storing  the  interior  man 
through  the  five  conduits  of  sight,  touch,  smell, 
taste,  and  hearing,  and  so  storing  it  that  every 
precious  parcel  shall  be  at  arm's  reach  in  the 
instant  of  need  ]  This  depends  on  industry, 
not  Genius.  (Unless  you  make  Genius  to  be 
the  power  of  doing  with  prodigious  rapidity 
what  other  minds  effect  by  slow  and  steady 
strain,  —  as  the  driving-wheels  of  a  locomo- 
tive achieve  the  same  number  of  revolutions 
in  a  minute  that  the  wheel  of  a  baggage- 
wagon  accomplishes  in  an  hour.) 

Within  the  last  few  years  England  and 
America  have  laid  in  their  honored  graves 
two  men,  who  were  prodigies  of  acquire- 
ment unsurpassed.  One  of  them  lies  by  the 
side  of  Addison  in  Westminster  Abbey.     The 


BRAINS,    AND    HOW    TO    USE    THEM.  115 

other —  a  namesake  of  Addison  —  lies  by  the 
side  of  President  Edwards  in  the  Westminster 
Abbey  of  America  *  One  of  them,  when  at 
school,  w^as  known  among  his  school-fellows 
as  "  Macaulay,  the  Omniscient."  From  boy- 
hood he  was  a  terrible  toiler.  He  saw  every 
thing;  he  heard  every  thing;  he  read  every 
thing ;  he  remembered  every  thing.  It  is 
e^en  said  that,  if  every  copy  of  Milton's  Para- 
dise Lost  had  been  committed  to  the  flames, 
the  whole  of  the  matchless  epic  could  have 
been  recovered,  line  for  line,  from  the  tablets 
of  Macaulay's  memory.  That  Macaulay  had 
genius  none  will  deny ;  but  his  special  power 
was  the  power  of  acquiring,  classifying,  and 
presenting  vast  arrays  of  truth,  and  so  present- 
ing them  as  at  once  to  enrich  the  memory  and 
captivate  the  understanding.  He  was  one  of 
the  distributing  reservoirs  of  History.  He  is 
the  father  and  founder  of  a  school  of  author- 
ship, in  wbich    he    as    yet  stands  without  an 

*  The  Cemetery  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  wbich  contains  the  ashes 
of  Jonathan  Edwards,  Davies,  Witherspoon,  Dod,  Miller,  the 
Alexanders,  and  many  other  men  of  sacred  renown. 


116  THO  U  GHT-HIVES. 

equal.  Other  men  have  penetrated  into  pro- 
founder  pohtical  philosophy.  Others  have  pre- 
served a  more  rigid  impartiality.  But  no  other 
man  has  combined  in  himself  such  poAver  of 
acquisition,  and  such  power  of  presentation,  — 
such  exhaustless  wealth  of  knowledge  '•  from 
the  royal  cedar  to  the  hyssop  of  the  wall,"  — 
such  enthusiastic  conception  of  the  grand 
and  heroic,  mingled  with  such  detestation 
of  w^hat  is  sensual,  selfish,  and  devilish  iu 
human  history.  In  his  own  fine  language 
it  may  be  said  of  him  that,  "  among  the 
eminent  men  w^hose  bones  lie  near  him  in 
the  Great  Abbey,  none  has  left  a  more  stain- 
less, and  scarcely  one  a  more  splendid  name." 

If  Macaulay  had  no  superiors  in  Britain,  he 
certainly  had  one  American  rival  in  powers  of 
acquisition  and  retention.  His  own  attain- 
ments in  the  domain  of  letters  and  of  civil 
history  w^ere  not  more  remarkable  than  the 
attainments  in  sacred  literature,  in  Oriental 
research,  and  in  ecclesiastic  history,  by  Joseph 
Addison  Alexander. 

As  I  pronounce  that  hallowed"  name,  the 


BRAINS,    AND    UO^Y    TO    USE    THEM.  117 

visions  of  student-days  come  back  before  me. 
I  seem  to  see  again  that  form  as  it  once  stood 
in  the  sacred  desk ;  I  seem  to  hear  again  those 
pkiintive  tones  as  they  once  melted  on  the  air. 
That  square,  massive  head  (which  we  fancied 
to  be  like  to  Napoleon's)  rises  once  more 
before  ns ;  the  ruddy  glow  on  the  check  a 
beautiful  emblem  of  the  soul-health  within. 
From  those  lips  we  seem  to  hear  again  those 
streams  of  concinnate  exegesis,  those  bril- 
liant bursts  of  impassioned  vehemence,  those 
tides  of  holy  emotion,  —  all  poured  forth  in  a 
voice  that  sometimes  swelled  through  the 
vestibule  to  passers  in  the  street,  and  sometimes 
hushed  itself  to  the  plaintive  melody  of  a  lute. 
Such  a  reservoir  has  not  been  opened  from 
any  iVmerican  pulpit  in  our  generation.  No 
man  ever  saw  the  bottom  of  that  profound, 
capacious,  all-containing,  inexhaustible  intel- 
lect. No  man  ever  laid  a  task  too  heavy  on 
that  herculean  memory.  From  a  single  read- 
ing he  could  commit  a  whole  discourse  ;  from 
a  single  perusal  he  rose  up  master  of  an  intri- 
cate volume, — his   mental   recreations   were 


118  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

otlier  men's  arduous  toils.  A  thousand  pulpits 
are  the  richer  for  the  accumulations  of  that 
one  busy  and  beautiful  life, — that  career  of 
labor  and  of  love.  Alas  for  us,  that  such  a 
life  should  have  ended !  Alas  for  the  be- 
reaved town,  the  bereaved  seminary  and 
church,  that  never  can  grow  reconciled  to  its 
bereavement !  We  go  into  our  libraries,  and 
behold  two  fatal  gaps  in  two  favorite  depart- 
ments of  study ;  and  we  ask  ourselves,  "  Who 
will  ever  finish  yonder  magnificent  History 
since  Macaulay's  hand  has  forgot  its  cunning  1 
Who  will  ever  carry  on  those  affluent  com- 
mentaries since  Addison  Alexander  has  passed 
to  the  loftier  knowledge  and  clearer  light  of 
the  Heavenly  Avorld '?  " 

Lest  any  one  should  be  discouraged  by  the 
presentation  of  such  prodigies  of  mental  ac- 
quisition as  the  two  celebrated  examples  just 
cited,  let  me  say  that  they  owed  their  eminence 
and  usefulness  to  herculean  industry.  Young 
men,  choose  for  your  patron-saint  Industry. 
Get  some  starling  to  cry  work  —  w^ork  — 
work  —  study  —  study  —  study.     Study  every 


BRAINS,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM.     119 

tiling,  but  with  a  bearing  on  your  own  line  of 
intellectual  labor.  Concentrate  on  one  point, 
or  a  few  points,  '•  as  a  gardener,  by  severe 
pruning,  forces  the  sap  of  the  tree  into  two 
or  three  vigorous  limbs,  instead  of  suffering  it 
to  become  a  sheaf  of  spindling  twigs."  Con- 
centration is  the  secret  of  strength.  "  Stick  to 
your  brewery,"  said  the  great  E-othschild  to 
Mr.  Buxton,  "  and  you  will  be  the  first  brewer 
of  London.  Try  to  be  brewer,  banker,  manu- 
facturer, and  merchant,  and  you  will  soon  be  — 
in  the  gazette." 

"  Mr.  A often  laughs  at  me,"  said  Pro- 
fessor Henry  once  in  Princeton  College  Lab- 
oratory,—  "  often  laughs  at  me,  because  1  have 
but  one  idea.  He  talks  about  every  thing, 
aims  to  excel  in  many  things,  but  I  have 
learned  that,  if  I  ever  make  a  breach,  I  must 
play  my  guns  continually  upon  one  point." 

This  sober  wisdom  met  its  reward.  He 
gave  his  days  and  nights  to  physical  science. 
From  the  time  when,  an  obscure  youth,  he 
studied  Silliman's  Journal  by  fire-light,  in  a 
log  cabin,  on  to  the  day  w^hen  English  dukes 


120  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

and  earls  rose  up  to  do  liim  respect,  he  had 
but  one  ami  in  life,  —  to  add  to  the  sum  of 
human  knowledge.  He  found  the  earth  and 
air  full  of  electricity ;  and  he  found,  too,  that 
the  galvanic  current,  slow,  but  steady  and  con- 
tinuous, was  worth  a  thousand  brilliant  elec- 
tric flashes.  He  set  to  work  upon  this,  with 
might  and  main.  He  linked  battery  to  bat- 
tery ;  harnessed  the  subtile  fluid  into  gigantic 
magnets,  and  made  it  lift  prodigious  burdens. 
And  when  at  last,  by  his  untiring  toil,  a  chaos 
of  facts  was  marshalled  into  the  symmetry  of 
a  science  ;  w^hen,  in  obedience  to  his  guidance 
(in  common  with  other  co-laborers),  the  elec- 
tric current  mounted  the  wires  as  a  message- 
bearer  round  the  globe,  —  then  did  the  Genius 
of  Truth  crown  Joseph  Henry  with  the  bene- 
diction, "  Thou  hast  sought  me  and  found  me, 
because  thou  didst  search  for  me  with  all  the 
heart." 

Thus  much  for  the   acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge, which  depends  upon  a  busy  brain.     It  is 
the  result  of   concentration    and  industry  in 
vincible. 


BRAINS,    AND    HOW    TO    USE    THEM.  121 

Eloquence,  on  the  other  hand,  which  is  the 
second  source  of  intellectual  power  that  I  am 
commending  to  you,  —  eloquence  is  the  golden 
product  of  an  inspired  heart.  No  elaboration 
of  rhetoric,  no  oratorical  culture,  can  pro- 
duce it,  which  ignores  the  spontaneous  emo- 
tions of  an  honest,  fearless,  loving  heart. 

Would  you  rule  men  from  the  rostrum, 
from  the  bar,  or  from  the  sacred  desk  ?  Let 
no  devil  cheat  you  out  of  your  conscience  ;  let 
no  callous  critic  shame  you  out  of  your  honest 
emotions. 

For  what  is  eloquence  but  truth  in  earnest  ? 
The  mind's  best  words  spoken  in  the  mind's 
best  moments. 

When  truth  gets  full  possession  of  a  man's 
conscience ;  when  all  his  sensibilities  are 
aroused  and  his  sympathies  in  full  play; 
when  the  soul  becomes  luminous,  until  the  in- 
terior light  and  glow  blaze  out  through  every 
loop  and  crevice  ;  when,  from  head  to  foot, 
the  whole  man  becomes  the  beaming,  burning 
impersonation  of  truth,  —  then  is  he  honestly, 
naturally,   irresistibly   eloquent.      To    this    a 


122  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

great  nead  is  not  always  essential:  a  great 
heart  is,  and  must  be. 

David,  wailing  over  his  self-ruined  darling 
Absalom ;  Paul,  pleading  before  Felix,  until  the 
guilty  man  paled  to  the  color  of  his  marble 
throne ;  Martin  Luther,  stretching  up  to  the 
full  height  of  his  manhood,  in  those  words, 
"  Here  I  stand,  I  cannot  otherwise.  God  help 
me.  Amen ; "  Patrick  Henry,  sounding  the 
key-note  to  Bunker  Hill  in,  '*  Give  me 
liberty,  or  give  me  death  ! "  Whitefield,  de- 
picting the  perils  of  a  lost  soul  on  the  verge 
of  the  pit,  until  the  plumes  on  Duchesses* 
head-dresses  quivered,  and  Chesterfield  cried 
out,  "  Good  God !  he  is  gone ! "  Kossuth, 
sounding  the  requiem  of  his  dead  nationality ; 
and  Alexander  Duff,  pronouncing  his  sublime 
farewell  to  the  heathery  hills  of  Scotland,  — 
these  men  were  eloquent,  not  by  special  in- 
spiration of  the  head,  but  by  overpowering 
inspiration  of  the  heart.  The  burning  soul 
kindled  the  lips ;  and  the  baptism  of  elo- 
quence came  in  the  form  of  a  "  fiery  tongue." 

The  loftier  the  emotion,  observe,  the  more 


BRAINS,    AND    HOW    TO    USE    THEM.  123 

impressive  the  utterance  of  the  orator.  The 
same  law  applies  to  eloquence  that  applies  to 
hydrostatics.  If  the  jet  is  to  be  thrown  to  a 
great  height  in  the  public  fountain,  the  spring 
that  feeds  the  fountain  must  have  a  lofty  birth- 
place on  the  mountain-side.  He  who  is  false 
to  the  better  instincts  of  his  soul  seldom  can 
be  eloquent.  To  the  limber-tongued  politician 
laboring  with  cunning  speech  to  make  the 
worse  appear  the  better  side,  to  the  hireling 
pleader  who  barters  justice  for  a  fee,  or  to  the 
hireling  priest  who  sells  souls  for  salary, — 
Nature  denies  to  such  that  gift  which  she  re- 
serves for  the  leal  and  loyal  spirit. 

The  grandest  achievement  of  eloquence  has 
been  reached  when  the  orator  has  received  the 
fullest  celestial  baptism  of  love,  when  self 
has  become  swallowed  up  in  the  glory  that 
surrounds  the  cross  of  Calvary. 

And  where  should  we  look  for  the  highest 
realizations  of  true  eloquence,  but  in  the  pul- 
pit ]  Where  is  there  less  excuse  for  tameness, 
for  affectation,  for  heartlessness,  for  stupidity] 
Where  can  the  strongest  intellect  find  fuller 


124  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

play?  For  the  ambassador  of  truth  has  not 
only  the  loftiest  of  themes,  but  his  text-book 
is  the  most  perfect  of  models.  In  it  may  be 
found  every  thing  that  is  most  sublime  in 
imagery,  most  melting  in  pathos,  most  irresist- 
ible in  argument.  The  minister  of  Christ 
need  not  betake  himself  to  the  drama  of 
Greece,  the  forum  of  Rome,  or  to  the  mystic 
retreats  of  German  philosophy;  he  need  not 
study  Chatham  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  or 
Erskine  at  the  bar.  He  may  ever  be  nurtur- 
ing his  soul  amid  those  pages  where ^  John 
Milton  fed,  before  those  eyes,  which  had 
*'  failed  with  long  watching  for  liberty  and 
law,"  beheld  the  gorgeous  visions  of  "  Para- 
dise." He  may  be  ever  amid  the  scenes  which 
inspired  Bunyan  to  his  matchless  dream,  and 
taught  Jeremy  Taylor  his  hearse-like  melo- 
dies. The  harp  of  Israel's  minstrel  is  ever  in 
his  ear ;  before  his  eye  moves  the  magnificent 
panorama  of  the  Apocalypse.  He  need  but 
open  his  soul  to  that  "  oldest  choral  melody," 
the  book  of  Job ;  if  it  used  to  inspire  Charles 
James  Fox  for  the  Parliament-house,  why.  not 


BRAINS,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM.    125 

himself  for  the  pulpit?  Paul  is  ever  at  his 
elbow  to  teach  him  trenchant  argument; 
Jolin,  to  teach  persuasion  ;  and  a  heart  of  steel 
must  he  have  who  is  not  moved  to  pathos  in 
the  chamber  of  heart-stricken  David,  or  under 
the  olive-trees  of  Gethsemane.  The  Bible  is  the 
best  of  models  too,  for  it  is  always  true  to 
the  life.  It  reaches  up  to  the  loftiest,  down 
to  the  lowliest  affairs  of  existence.  The  same 
divine  pencil  that  portrayed  the  scenic  splen- 
dors of  the  Revelations  and  the  awful  tragedy 
of  Golgotha  condescends  to  etch  for  us  a 
Hebrew  mother  bending  over  her  cradle  of 
rushes,  a  village- maiden  bringing  home  the 
gleanings  of  the  barley-field,  and  a  penitent 
woman  weeping  on  the  Saviour's  feet.  What 
God  has  ennobled,  who  shall  dare  to  call  com- 
mon? What  true  orator  of  nature  will  fear 
to  introduce  into  the  pulpit  a  homely  scene  or 
a  homespun  character,  a  fireside  incident  or 
a  death-bed  agony,  the  familiar  episodes  of 
the  field  and  the  shop,  the  school-room  and 
the  nursery.  He  does  not  lower  the  dignity 
of  the  pulpit:  he  rather  imparts  to  it  the 
higher  dignity  of  human  nature. 


126  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Would  that  the  pulpit,  which  is  the  most 
potent  educator  among  us,  would  that  every 
pulpit  were  thoroughly  liberated,  not  only 
from  a  time-serving  expediency  that  muffles  its 
rebuking  thunders,  but  from  a  contemptible 
petit-maitreism  that  curbs  its  free  manly  ac- 
tivities. 

From  the  pulpit,  the  statesman  should  leam 
the  "  higher  law  "  of  justice  and  of  right ;  the 
merchant  should  learn  the  golden  rule  of  in- 
tegrity. Before  the  pulpit  the  politician 
should  breathe  an  atmosphere  of  such  crystal 
purity  that  a  descent  into  the  Avernus  of  our 
ordinary  "  politics  "  would  be  instant  suffoca- 
tion. The  patriot  should  find  his  minister 
more  patriotic  than  himself;  the  maiden 
should  be  the  purer  for  his  delicacy ;  the 
mother  should  find  a  Christian  culture  made 
the  easier  for  his  luminous  portraiture  of  the 
child-life's  joys  and  sorrows.  His  every  utter- 
ance should  be  a  fresh  inspiration  to  the  ar- 
tist, a  fresh  stimulus  to  the  intellect  of  the 
scholar.  No  man  should  build  so  high,  but 
the  pulpit  should  build  above  him.     No  reck- 


BRAINS,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  THEM.    127 

less  youth  in  his  wildest  aberration  of  profli- 
gacy should  ever  reach  a  pitfall  or  a  precipice 
that  had  not  been  mapped  out  to  him  before- 
hand in  the  pulpit.  And  on  life's  rough  high- 
way no  sinning  sufferer  should  faint  or  fall,  or 
be  flung  into  thicket  so  dense  and  dark,  but 
over  him  should  bend  Christ's  messenger  of 
love,  and  into  his  bleeding  wounds  should 
distil  the  balm  of  Heaven's  Gospel. 

In  all  this,  is  there  no  scope  for  the  loftiest 
intellect  1 


THE   SINS   OF  THE  TONGUE. 


'THHE  gift  of  speech  is  a  marvellous  gift. 
-*■  For  five  whole  days  of  creation's  first 
week  the  Almighty  was  clothing  the  new- 
born earth  with  light  and  verdure,  and  cover- 
ing it  with  the  myriads  of  animal  life.  But 
it  was  a  voiceless  world.  At  length  God 
made  man  in  his  own  image,  with  not  only. a 
soul  to  appreciate  his  Creator,  but  a  tongue 
to  give  expression  to  his  homage,  and  "  as 
the  new-formed  being  gazed  around  him,  the 
silence  was  broken,  and  creation  thrilled  with 
the  melody  of  speech." 

Philosophers  tell  us  that  every  uttered  word 
produces  a  vibration  in  the  atmosphere  ;  an 
ingenious  theory  has  therefore  been  broached 
that  these  vibrations  never  entirely  cease  !  If 
this  were   true,   we   should   still  be   moving 


THE    SINS    OF    THE    TONGUE.  129 

among  the  inaudible  words  of  all  our  pro- 
genitors. This  seems  fanciful  in  natural 
philosophy ;  but  there  is  a  sense  in  which 
every  uttered  word  lives  for  ever.  It  lives 
in  its  influence  on  the  speaker,  in  its  in- 
fluence on  others.  Paul's  voice  echoes  still  ; 
millions  of  God's  faithful  messengers,  being 
dead,  yet  speak  ! 

When  Latimer  was  on  trial  for  heresy,  he 
heard  the  scratch  of  a  pen  behind  the  tapes 
try.  In  a  moment  he  bethought  himself  that 
every  word  he  spoke  was  takeji  down,  and 
he  says  that  he  was  very  careful  what  words 
he  uttered.  Behind  the  veil  that  hides  eter- 
nity is  a  record-book,  in  which  our  every  syl- 
lable is  taken  down.  Even  the  most  trivial  are 
not  forgotten,  for  the  Lord  Jesus  tells  us  that 
"  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they 
shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  Day  of 
Judgment ! "  If  our  words  have  an  eternity 
of  existence,  if  good  words  have  so  potent 
an  influence  to  save,  if  idle,  or  profane,  or 
poisonous  speech  work  such  perennial  mis- 
chief, how  needful  is  the  perpetual  utterance 


130  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

of  the  prayer,  "  Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before 
my  mouth  ;  keep  the  door  of  my  lips !  " 

I.  Among  the  many  sins  of  the  tongue  are 
idle  words.  "  x'ivoid  foolish  talking,"  says  the 
wise  apostle,  "  and  let  your  speech  be  always 
with  grace,  seasoned  with  salt."  There  is  a 
peculiar  sin  in  idle  talking  when  we  remem- 
ber that  the  same  expenditure  of  breath 
might  be  productive  of  so  much  blessing. 
When  we  contemplate  a  Whitefield  in  the 
full  rush  of  his  resistless  oratory,  —  now 
startling  a  guilty  sinner  from  his  slumber  on 
the  verge  of  hell,  now  leading  a  bewildered 
wanderer  to  Christ,  now  kindling  a  saint 
into  rapture,  and  now  melting  a  rebel  into 
penitence,  —  we  grow  indignant  at  the  thought 
that  this  prerogative  of  speech  should  so  often 
be  spent  in  silly  jests  and  contemptible  frivoli- 
ties. Are  time  and  eternity  so  lacking  in 
themes  of  importance  that  we  shall  spend  our 
precious  breath  in  fuming  emptiness  ?  Surely, 
if  we  would  but  reflect  how  soon  our  tongues 
will  lie  silent  in  the  tomb,  and  how  speedily 
the  dust  will  gather  upon  our  lips,  we  should 


THE    SINS    OF    THE    TONGUE.  131 

be  awed  into   more  sobriety    and  purity   and 
carefulness  of  speech. 

Shall  we  never  jest '?  Does  not  a  pleasant 
joke  sometimes  do  good  like  a  medicine  ? 
Very  true.  There  is  more  marrow  in  a  wise 
man's  jokes  than  in  a  fool's  solemn  inanities. 
But  a  wise  man  "  sets  a  watch  on  his  lips  " 
even  when  he  utters  a  pleasantry.  Especially, 
he  never  jests  at  the  wrong  time,  or  about 
sacred  things.  He  never  utters  puns  and 
parodies  on  the  Bible  ;  for  what  men  have 
once  laughed  at,  they  seldom  reverence. 
Heartily  do  I  wish  that  I  had  never  uttered 
a  ludicrous  appHcation  of  a  Scripture  line, 
and  had  never  heard  one ;  for  the  profane 
or  indecent  burlesque  will  often  shoot  into 
my  mind  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon  or  a  prayer. 
Wit  and  humor  are  allowable  when  controlled 
by  good  sense  and  by  reverence  for  God  ;  but 
when  we  venture  into  the  sublime  domains  of 
Revelation,  we  should  put  our  shoes  from  off 
our  feet,  for  the  ground  whereon  we  stand  is 
holy.  From  my  soul  I  abominate  merriment 
in  the  pulpit.     Should  he  court  a  grin  who 


132  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

should  be  winning  souls  to  God  ?  When 
an  ambassador  of  Christ  descends  to  make 
sport  in  the  sacred  desk,  the  devil  laughs. 

II.  Malicious  words  are  cousins  in  sin  to 
idle  and  profane  words.  Paul  says,  "  Let  all 
bitterness  and  evil  speaking  be  put  away  from 
you  with  all  malice."  Kind  words  are  the  oil 
that  lubricates  every-day  intercourse.  They 
cost  little.  A  phrase  of  common  comfort, 
"  that  by  daily  use  hath  almost  lost  its  sense, 
will  fall  upon  the  saddened  heart  like  choicest 
music."  We  love  to  meet  certain  people. 
They  always  have  a  kind,  cheerful,  inspiriting 
word  for  us.  They  make  us  hopeful,  and 
heal  our  heart-aches.  Others  we  instinctively 
shun ;  they  always  have  a  sly  thrust  at  some- 
body ;  they  hatch  mean  suspicions  in  our 
minds  ;  they  are  ever  letting  out  a  drop  of  acid 
on  some  character  or  cause  that  is  dear  to 
us,  and  the  acid  leaves  an  ugly  stain.  There 
was  an  ancient  malediction  that  the  tongue 
of  the  slanderer  should  be  cut  out;  if  that 
summary  process  were  now  enforced,  we  fear 
that  some  of  our  acquaintances    might   soon 


THE    SINS    OF    THE    TONGUE.  133 

lose  the  "  unruly  member."  A  slanderer  is 
a  public  enemy.  One  reckless  tongue  is 
enough  sometimes  to  embroil  a  whole  vil- 
lage and  to  set  a  church  in  a  flame.  "  There 
are  six  things  which  God  hates  ;  yea,  seven 
are  an  abomination  unto  him."  The  seventh 
of  the  category  is  "  the  false  witness  who 
speaketh  lies,  and  he  that  soweth  discord 
among  brethren." 

III.  In  treating  of  the  sins  of  the  tongue, 
we  must  not  omit  a  word  in  regard  to  that 
feculent  ichor  that  exudes  from  some  lips  in 
the  form  of  obscenity.  Out  of  the  abundance 
of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh  ;  and  a  filthy 
imagination,  like  a  fever,  comes  out  on  the 
tongue.  In  companies  of  youth,  in  shops 
and  counting-houses,  in  rooms  of  colleges  and 
boarding-schools,  in  ships'  cabins  and  soldiers' 
tents,  a  vender  of  obscenities  is  a  walking 
pestilence.  Long  years  do  not  obliterate  the 
filthy  memories  ;  not  even  the  converting 
grace  of  God  can  wholly  purify  the  unclean 
chambers  of  imagery. 

And  then  there  is  profane  swearing.     This 


134  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

is  the  most  gratuitous  and  inexcusable  of  sins. 
The  man  who  swears  turns  speech  into  a 
curse,  and  before  his  time  rehearses  the  dia- 
lect of  hell.  He  waits  for  no  bait ;  but  "  bites 
at  the  devil's  bare  hook."  The  shrewd  Qua- 
ker's advice  to  the  profane  youth,  "  Swear 
away,  my  young  friend,  till  thee  gets  all  that 
bad  stuff  out  of  theej'  points  to  the  real  source 
of  the  vice ;  for  it  is  out  of  an  evil  heart  that 
proceed  evil  thoughts,  false  witness,  and  blas- 
phemies. 

"We  fear  that  the  purest  tongue  will  need 
much  purifying  before  it  is  fit  to  join  in  the 
celestial  praises  of  God's  upper  temple.  For 
that  worship  let  us  attune  our  voices  by  cease- 
less prayers,  by  words  of  love,  by  earnest  vindi- 
cations of  the  right,  by  habitual  "  speech  sea- 
soned with  salt "  of  divine  grace.  The  melody 
of  heaven  will  spring  from  a  harmony  of 
hearts;  each  voice  there  will  bear  a  part  in 
the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 


WHO   KINDLED   THE   FIEE? 


ONE  article  in  the  Mosaic  law,  given  fiom 
heaven,  is  this  :  "  If  fire  break  out  and 
catch  in  thorns,  so  that  the  stacks  of  corn  or 
the  standing  corn  be  consumed  therewith,  he 
that  kindled  the  fire  shall  surely  make  restitu- 
tion." This  statute  had  a  peculiar  necessity 
in  such  a  hot,  dry  country  as  Palestine,  where 
there  was  a  peculiar  danger  from  accidental 
conflagrations.  If  a  man  burned  over  his 
stubble-field,  it  was  necessary,  before  the  dry 
grass  was  lighted,  to  see  that  the  wind  was  in 
the  right  quarter,  and  every  precaution  taken 
that  the  flames  should  not  kindle  upon  the 
property  of  a  neighbor.  If  any  farmer 
neglected  to  take  these  precautions,  and  the 
swift-footed  flames  went  careering  through 
vineyards,  and  orchards,  and  stacks  of  barley. 


136  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

then  he  who  kindled  the  fire  was  required  to 
pay  for  the  damage  produced  by  his  own  care- 
lessness. 

The  sound  principle  that  underlies  this  law 
is  that  men  must  suffer  for  the  evil  they  do 
through  thoughtless  recklessness,  as  well  as 
for  what  they  do  with  malicious  intent.  Men 
are  to  be  held  accountable,  not  only  for  the 
injuries  which  they  wilfully  perpetrate,  but 
for  the  injuries  which  they  occasion  to  others 
through  wanton  carelessness  or  even  thought- 
less indifference.  The  person  who  set  his 
neighbor's  barley-s Jacks  on  fire  was  required 
to  make  restitution,  although  he  did  not  intend 
to  burn  him  out.  The  responsibility  comes 
back  on  him  who  kindled  the  flames.  Let  us 
apply  the  principle  of  this  divine  enactment 
to  our  own  times,  and  point  out  the  moral 
dangers  of  playing  with  fire.  Perhaps  we 
may  discover  that  some  very  respectable  peo- 
ple are  often  very  destructive  incendiaries. 

1.  If  I  invite  a  group  of  young  men  in  my 
house  to  surround  a  card-table,  I  may  simply 
design  to  furnish  them  an  hour's  amusement 


WHO    KINDLED    THE    FIRE  1  137 


/ 


But  perhaps  a  lust  for  gambling  may  lie  latent 
in  some  young  man's  breast,  and  I  may 
quicken  it  into  life  by  my  offer  of  a  tempta- 
tion. There  is  fire  in  that  pack  of  cards ! 
And  I  deliberateiv  place  that  fire  amid  the 
inflammable  passions  of  that  youthful  breast. 
On  me  rests  the  consequences  of  the  act,  as 
well  as  upon  him  whom  I  lead  into  tempta- 
tion. The  motive  does  not  alter  the  result  by 
one  iota. 

"  For  evil  is  wrought  by  want  of  thought. 
As  well  as  by  want  of  heart." 

2.  Among  social  virtues  none  is  more  popu- 
lar than  that  of  hospitality.  When  bounti- 
fully practised  toward  the  needy ^  it  rises  to  the 
dignity  of  a  Christian  grace.  And  ordinary 
hospitalities  may  be  set  to  the  credit  of  a  gen- 
erous spirit.  But  here  is  the  master  or  mis- 
tress of  a  house  who  spread  their  table  with  a 
lavish  provision  for  the  entertainment  of  their 
evening  guests.  Among  the  abundant  viands 
of  that  table  the  lady  of  the  house  places  the 
choicest  brands  of  Madeira  wine,  and  on  a 


138  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

side-board  she  sets  out  a  huge  bowl  of  inviting 
punch.  And  among  the  invited  guests  of  the 
evening  comes  a  man  who  has  promised  the 
wife  of  his  early  love  that  he  will  never  again 
yield  to  his  awful  appetite  and  turn  their 
sweet  home  into  a  hell.  He  sees  the  tempter 
in  that  accursed  punch-bowl,  and  is  pressed 
very  courteously  to  "  take  a  glass."  The  fire 
"  catches  in  the  dry  thorns "  in  an  instant. 
He  drinks.  He  goes  reeling  into  his  own 
door  that  night,  and  his  whole  household  is 
in  a  flame  of  excitement  and  terror,  and 
agony  and  shame.  Now  who  kindled  that 
fire?  Let  her  who  put  that  bottle  to  her 
neighbor's  lips  make  answer!  According  to 
the  Jewish  law,  the  incendiary  was  required 
to  pay  the  damages  of  the  conflagration.  But 
what  "  restitution  "  can  be  made  for  a  ruined 
character,  a  desolated  home,  or  a  broken 
heart  % 

If  my  house  and  its  contents  are  destroyed 
by  fire,  the  insurance  company  may  restore 
my  pecuniary  loss.  But  they  cannot  replace 
the  precious  keepsakes  and  the  relics  of  the 


WHO    KINDLED    THE    FIRE  1  139 

loved  and  lost  which  my  dwelling  contained. 
To-day  there  are  thousands  of  human  houses 
in  New  York  and  Brooklyn  —  dwellings  of 
immortal  souls  —  that  are  on  fire  !  In  these 
burning  bodies  of  our  fellow-men  are  precious 
things  beyond  the  wealth  of  Ophir,  —  hopes, 
talents,  faculties,  affections,  and  an  immortality 
of  being.  Who  kindled  those  fires?  We 
answer  that  every  one  who  tempts  another 
to  the  social  glass  is  a  partner  in  producing 
the  conflagration.  Who  feed  the  fires  ?  Un- 
questionably the  venders  of  strong  drink,  who, 
for  lucre's  sake,  deal  out  the  liquid  flames 
of  perdition.  The  proprietors  of  the  10,000 
drinking-saloons  in  our  twin  cities  do  not  aim 
to  kill  their  fellow-men.  But  they  do  kill 
them,  whatever  be  their  secret  motives  in 
pursuing  their  abominable  trafiS.c.  At  the 
bar  of  God  they  will  be  held  responsible. 
And  let  me  inquire  just  here  whether  those 
Christian  citizens  who  do  not  even  lift  a  fin- 
ger to  sustain  the  law  which  hanks  the  grog- 
seller's  fires  during  God's  own  Sabbath  are 
not  themselves  partially  guilty  for   some   of 


140  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

the  consequences  of  the  wide-spread  confla- 
gration. We  commend  this  question  to  the 
consciences  of  our  neighbors  on  the  day  of 
election. 

3.  The  artillery  of  this  divine  law  against 
incendiarism  has  a  wide  range.  It  is  pointed 
against  that  social  nuisance,  the  slanderer. 
"  Behold  how  great  a  matter  his  little  fire 
kindleth  !  "  The  utterance  of  evil  reports  may 
be  well  likened  to  playing  with  fire.  For 
there  is  but  a  spark  required  to  set  a  whole 
neighborhood  in  a  blaze  ;  and  when  the  flame 
gets  under  way  it  is  beyond  all  human  con- 
trol. No  matter  that  the  spark  may  have 
been  lighted  without  malicious  motive.  The 
ugly  scorch,  upon  the  commercial  integrity 
of  the  merchant,  or  upon  the  good  name  of 
the  Christian  minister,  or  upon  the  reputation 
of  the  young  maiden,  may  not  have  been  the 
prompting  of  wilful  malignity.  But  the  scorch 
is  there ;  and  somebody  struck  the  spark. 

A  careless  word  sometimes  makes  irreme- 
diable mischief.  I  have  read  that  a  foolish 
young  English  clerk  —  fond  of  practical  jokes 


WHO    KINDLED    THE    FIRE  1  141 

—  once   said  to  a  friend,  "  Have   you  heard 

that  E &  Co.,  the  bankers,  have  stopped 

payment  ?  "  He  merely  meant  that  the  bank- 
ing-house had  as  usual  closed  up  for  the  night. 
But  he  amused  himself  by  seeing  how  he  had 
startled  his  friend.  He  did  not  stop  to  ex- 
plain his  real  meaning.  His  friend  mentioned 
the  alarming  report  to  another :  the  rumor 
spread.      Next   day  there  was  a  "  run  upon 

the  bank,"    and   Messrs.   E &  Company 

were  obliged  to  suspend  payment!  The 
silly  youth  did  not  mean  to  burn  down  tne 
commercial  credit  of  a  prosperous  house  * 
he  only  meant  to  amuse  himself  by  playing 
with  fire.  And  a  kindred  mischief  to  his  is 
perpetrated  by  every  one  who  -retails  con- 
temptible gossip,  or  gives  birth  to  a  scurrilous 
slander.  "  An  abomination  to  the  Lord  is 
the  false  witness  who  speaketh  lies,  and  he 
that  soweth  discord  among  brethren." 

4.  This  law  against  incendiarism  applies 
to  every  utterance  of  spiritual  error  and  infi- 
delity. He  who  utters  a  devilish  suggestion 
to  corrupt  the  innocence  of  chastity  sets  fire 


142  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

to  passion,  and  becomes  the  incendiary  of  a 
soul.  He  who  scatters  a  pernicious  literature 
comes  under  the  same  condemnation.  He 
who  sows  scepticism,  by  tongue  or  pen,  sets 
fire  to  the  "  standing  corn"  of  righteous  opinion. 
Beware  how  you  play  with  the  sparks  of  false- 
hood !  Beware  how  you  play  with  the  fire 
of  wicked  suggestion,  that  may  kindle  a  blaze 
of  sin  in  another's  heart !  Beware  how  you 
fling  an  infidel  thought  among  the  growing 
barley  of  a  young  and  sensitive  mind !  For 
in  the  day  of  final  reckoning  you  will  be  called 
up  to  answer  to  the  question,  who  kindled  the 
fire? 


CHEIST     CLEANSING     THE     HEART- 
TEMPLE. 


TN  what  a  turmoil  and  confusion  did  our 
blessed  Lord  find  the  temple  when  he  en- 
tered it  on  a  certain  time  of  the  Passover !  A 
noisy  crowd  of  money-changers  and  cattle- 
brokers  are  driving  their  selfish  and  sacrilegious 
traffic.  Herds  of  oxen  are  lowing  ;  sheep  are 
bleating  ;  cages  of  doves  block  up  the  way ;  the 
air  is  filled  with  the  jabbering  babel  of  traders' 
tongues,  all  eager  to  sell  their  beasts  and  birds 
for  the  sacrifices.  It  is  a  terrible  desecration 
of  an  edifice  sacred  to  the  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth. 

Eight  among  these  noisy  traffickers  enters 
One  who  is  greater  than  the  temple.  Seizing 
the  small  rushes  which  were  used  for  tying  up 
the  cattle,  our  Saviour  twisted  them  into  a 
"  scourge  "  or  whip,  and  drove  out  the  whole 


144  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

crowd  of  profane  intruders.  The  tables  of 
the  money-changers  are  overturned ;  and  to 
those  who  were  turning  the  sanctuary  into  a 
pigeon-house  the  Divine  Master  says :  "  Take 
these  things  hence !  make  not  my  Father  s 
house  a  house  of  merchandise  !  "  The  temple 
is  cleansed  in  an  instant.  Not,  of  course,  by 
the  terror  inspired  by  a  small  whip  in  a  single 
hand  ;  but  by  a  supernatural  authority,  —  the 
authority  of  the  Divine  Messiah,  which  as- 
serted itself  in  such  a  manner  that  the  sacrile- 
gious rabble  moved  off,  convicted  of  their 
wrong,  and  overawed  by  the  rebuke  of  that 
Sovereign  who  was  "  Lord  also  of  the  temple." 
In  this  striking  scene  I  find  a  parable,  full 
of  spiritual  instruction.  The  soul  of  every 
Christian  is  a  temple.  It  becomes  such  at  the 
time  of  conversion.  Formerly  a  habitation  of 
the  evil  one,  it  becomes,  by  regeneration,  a 
"  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit."  As 
the  stones  on  Mount  Moriah  were  but  common 
stones  until  they  were  consecrated  to  God's 
use,  so  the  powers  and  affections  of  a  sinner's 
heart    become,   through    true    conversion,    a 


CHRIST    CLEANSING   THE    HEART-TEMPLE.    145 

dwelling-place  for  Jesus.  "  Know  ye  not," 
said  Paul,  "  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God, 
and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?  If 
any  man  defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  will  God 
destroy,  for  the  temple  of  God  is  holy ;  which 
temple  ye  are!'  What  a  glorious  idea  this  pre- 
sents of  a  faithful  follower  of  Christ !  His 
heart  is  a  sanctuary  of  the  spirit,  —  full  of 
holy  thoughts  and  devout  aspirations.  Not  a 
gloomy  cloister;  but  a  tabernacle  of  praise, 
with  strains  of  lofty  melody  pealing  through 
the  arches,  and  the  sweet  incense  of  gratitude 
ascending  from  the  altars.  The  mercy-seat  of 
prayer  is  there  ;  and  the  flames  of  love,  con- 
suming the  offerings,  send  forth  the  "  savor  of 
a  sweet  smell." 

But  alas !  how  often  is  this  inner  temple  of 
the  believer  profaned  by  intruders  as  sacrile- 
gious as  they  who  brought  their  beasts  and 
birds  and  bullion  into  the  sacred  edifice  on 
Mount  Moriah  !  Selfishness  brings  in  its  herd 
of  sinful  schemes  into  the  apartments  which 
belong  to  Christ  alone.  Gradually,  and  under 
fair  pretences,  self  edges  in, — first  into  the 


146  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

outer  courts,  and  then  into  the  very  sanctum 
of  the  soul.  But  into  this  profaned  heart  how 
often  does  the  loving  Jesus  come  with  his 
scourge  of  sharp  chastisements !  How  often 
does  he  twist  the  very  plans  of  our  selfishness 
into  a  thong  to  smite  us  !  Selfishness  becomes 
its  own  retributior.  Our  pride,  too,  is  often 
fearfully  scourged  by  humiliations  and  mor- 
tifications and  exposures.  Poor,  boastful 
Peter !  What  a  scourging  did  his  self-conceit 
receive  in  Pilate's  garden  !  And  what  a  terri- 
ble whip  of  retribution  did  David's  lust  receive, 
when  the  child  of  his  guilt  lay  dead  before  his 
weeping  eyes !  It  was  to  purify,  and  not  to 
destroy,  that  the  chastising  Lord  entered  into 
those  heart-temples.  And  our  pitying  Saviour, 
when  he  weaves  out  of  our  sins  a  scourge  to 
punish  us,  only  carries  out  his  discipline  of 
mercy.  Whom  he  loveth  he  chasteneth  ;  and 
scour  geth  (observe  the  word)  —  scour  geth 
every  child  whom  he  receiveth. 

We  could  point  to  hundreds  of  church- 
members  into  whose  heart-temple  covet- 
ousness   has   intruded    and    set   up  its  tables 


CHRIST    CLEANSING    THE    HEART-TEMPLE.     147 

of  traffic,  in  despite  of  that  solemn  caution, 
"  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon."  Such 
men  are  eaten  up  by  the  greed  for  gain  ;  they 
are  thoroughly  worldly-minded  and  unspiritu- 
alized.  The  heart  that  was  once  a  temple  has 
become  a  warehouse,  or  a  broker's  office.  Let 
such  backsliding  professors  look  out  for  the 
scourge !  Perhaps  it  may  come  in  a  sore 
spiritual  distress ;  perhaps  in  commercial  dis- 
aster, which  shall  overturn  the  tables  and 
scatter  the  hoards  of  coveted  wealth.  In 
1857,  the  Lord  entered  into  the  American 
Church  with  the  scourge  of  commercial  chas- 
tisements, and  threw  down  the  tables  of  traffic 
in  terrible  bankruptcies  ;  but  it  was  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  most  glorious  revivals  known 
in  this  century. 

Sinful  ambition  is  another  intruder  into  the 
heart  sanctuary.  "  Seekest  thou  great  things 
for  thyself?  Seek  them  not."  But,  in  spite 
of  this  tender  warning,  ambition  gets  posses- 
sion;  until  at  length  the  indignant  Master 
enters  to  overthrow  our  guilty  schemes,  with 
the  stem  rebuke,  '  Take  these  things  hence  ;  " 


148  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

"  he  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased." 
Methinks  that  some  of  us  may  have  set  up 
domestic  idols  in  the  temple  of  the  heart. 
We  loved  them  more  than  we  loved  Him 
who  gave  them.  And  when  the  scourge 
came,  —  came,  too,  in  an  unlooked-for  hour,  — 
it  drew  the  heart's  blood  !  The  surgery  of 
bereavement  was  terrible.  The  death- wail 
sounded  through  the  innef  chambers,  while 
the  Master  was  carrying  off  our  idols.  But, 
when  the  idol  was  gone,  there  was  more 
room  for  Him  to  whom  the  whole  heart  had 
once  been  promised.  Wnen  our  loved  ones 
are  taken,  then,  like  the  sisters  of  Bethany, 
we  send  for  that  Friend  who  had  been  quite 
too  much  forgotten  or  neglected  before. 
Blessed  be  the  chastisements,  however  bitter, 
which  purify  the  heart  for  Jesus  !  Blessed 
be  the  scourge,  if  it  is  only  in  that  hand 
which  was  once  pierced  for  our  redemption ! 
Love  never  gives  one  blow  too  many,  or  too 
hard. 

There  is  one   other   thought  worth  noting 
here,  if  it  be  not  too  close  a  torturing  of  the 


CHRIST    CLEANSING   THE    HEART-TEMPLE.     149 

very  words  of  the  inspired  narrative.  You 
will  observe  that,  when  Christ  cleansed  the 
temple  of  intruders,  he  "  made  a  scourge  of 
small  cords."  He  wove  the  little  withes  that 
lay  about  the  floors  into  the  whip  of  chastise- 
ment. So  does  that  same  loving  Lord  now 
employ  little  trials  as  well  as  great  bereave- 
ments in  the  spiritual  discipline  of  his  people. 
Many  a  Christian  has  a  daily  vexation  to  try 
his  patience  or  to  punish  his  besetting  sins. 
Little  pains,  little  annoyances,  and  little  dis 
comforts  are  as  much  a  part  of  our  discipline 
as  are  the  formidable  adversities  that  occa- 
sionally smite  us  like  hurricanes.  Little  vexa- 
tions often  creep  into  the  secret  places,  and, 
by  finding  out  the  sore  spots,  discover  to  us 
our  faults.  Let  us  not  despise  the  chastening 
of  our  Divine  Physician  and  Purifier  when  he 
sends  small  trials  as  well  as  great  ones  to  test 
our  graces  or  to  drive  out  our  sins.  Remem- 
ber that  it  was  with  a  scourge  of  small  cords 
that  the  Lord  of  the  temple  expelled  the 
profane  intruders  from  his  dwelling-place. 
Better,  far  better,  to  bear  the  scourge  of  little 


150  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

cords,  when  laid  on  by  the  hand  of  love,  than 
to  endure  the  whip  of  scorpions  in  that  world 
where  punishment  can  torture  and  sting,  but 
may  never  purify. 


WEDDED   FOE  HEAVEN. 


"X  TEXT  to  choosing  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
-^  ^  as  his  Saviour  and  guide,  the  most  im 
portant  choice  a  young  man  can  make  is  that 
of  a  wife.  Yet  this  most  eventful  step  is  too 
often  regarded  from  first  to  last  in  the  most 
trivial  aspect.  With  many  it  is  the  merest 
matter  of  fancy  or  boyish  caprice.  Some- 
times a  wife  is  sought  for  the  sole  grati- 
fication of  sensual  appetite.  Sometimes 
marriage  is  viewed  entirely  as  a  shrewd  pecu- 
niary speculation.  Indolent,  extravagant  young 
men  often  intrigue  through  a  marriage-vow  for 
a  wealth  which  they  are  too  lazy  or  too  thrift- 
less to  earn  by  honest  toil.  On  the  other 
hand,  many  an  ambitious  parent  has  sought 
to  purchase  a  splendid  "  establishment "  with 
the  sweetest  charms  that  Heaven  has  bestowed 


152  THOTjWHT-HIVES. 

upon  a  daughter.  What  baser  bargain  can  be 
consummated  1  And  when  a  woman  consents 
to  sell  her  person  without  her  heart  to  a  rich 
suitor,  what  is  it  but  the  essence  of  prostitu- 
tion without  its  loathsome  name  ?  Only  one 
man  should  be  rich  enough  to  win  my  daugh- 
ter :  it  is  he  who  can  offer  a  love  without  a 
rival,  and  a  character  without  a  stain.  True 
religion,  common  sense,  industrious  habits,  and 
a  warm  heart,  —  when  a  young  man  can  offer 
these^  no  daughter  who  is  worthy  of  such  a 
prize  will  be  likely  to  "  say  him  nay^ 

With  what  a  rash  recklessness  do  millions 
rush  into  the  momentous  engagements  that 
yield  their  inevitable  retribution  of  domestic 
misery  !  How  few  seek  by  prayer  for  Divine 
guidance  when  choosing  the  companion  of 
their  heart,  their  home,  and  their  destiny ! 
Far  oftener,  we  fear,  is  it  passion  than  prayer 
that  controls  this  great  decision.  The  grati- 
fication of  a  fancy,  the  excitement  of  a 
courtship,  and  the  frolic  of  a  wedding  are 
frequently  the  only  preparations  for  the 
serious  realities  of  wedded  life. 


WEDDED    FOR    HEAVEN.  153 

Boyish  caprice  and  girlish  romance  look 
vastly  different  in  human  eyes  when  they 
have  crystallized  down  into  the  permanent 
forms  of  daily  existence  under  the  same 
roof,  at  the  same  table  and  fireside,  year  in 
and  year  out,  for  summer  and  winter,  for  sick- 
ness or  health,  for  better  or  worse,  clear  on 
to  the  doorway  of  the  tomb.  When  the 
novelty  of  wedded  life  has  worn  away,  and 
perhaps  the  beauty  of  the  fair  face  that  in 
spired  the  early  passion  has  quite  faded  out, 
then  there  must  be  something  solid  left  be- 
hind, or  marriage  is  a  mockery  and  its  coveted 
happiness  but  a  dream.  There  must  be  mutual 
confidence,  mutual  respect,  unity  of  aim,  and 
old-fashioned  love:  there  ought  to  be  also  a 
union  of  hearts  in  the  love  of  Christ,  in  closet 
devotions,  and  at  the  communion-table.  When 
these  are  the  qualities  of  a  nuptial  union,  it  is 
a  marriage  in  the  Lord.  It  "  shineth  more  and 
more  "  from  the  auroral  dawn  of  fu'st  love  unto 
the  perfect  day  of  rich  and  ripened  bliss. 
When  young  hearts  are  wedded  in  Christ, 
they   are   wedded   for   heaven.     It   is    a   de- 

1* 


154  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

lightful  act  for  a  Christian  minister  to  join 
such  hearts  and  hands  together ;  but  the 
words  sometimes  stick  in  his  throat  when 
he  attempts  to  pronounce  a  benediction  on 
a  marriage  which  neither  common  sense  nor 
conscience  have  had  a  share  in  bringing  about 
His  fee  seems  to  come  out  of  Judas's  bag. 

The  admirable  Philip  Henry,  of  Broad 
Oaks,  England,  sought  the  hand  of  an  only 
daughter  in  a  somewhat  prominent  family. 
Her  father  said  to  her,  "  This  young  man 
seems  to  be  an  excellent  preacher,  but  I  do 
not  know  whence  he  came."  "  True,"  replied 
the  daughter  ;  "  but  I  know  where  he  is  going ^ 
and  I  want  to  go  along  with  him."  The  mar- 
riage proved  eminently  happy,  and  one  of  the 
children  was  the  famous  commentator.  When 
his  own  son  Matthew  and  his  daughters  asked 
his  consent  to  their  marriage,  he  said,  "  Please 
God,  and  please  yourselves,  and  then  you  will 
be  sure  to  please  me."  At  their  weddings  he 
saluted  them  with  a  fatherly  kiss,  and  said, 
"  Other  people  wish  you  much  happiness,  but 
I  wish  you  much  holiness :  if  you  have  that, 
you  are  certain  to  be  happy." 


WEDDED    FOR    HEAVEN.  155 

No  two  steps  in  a  man  s  life  are  so  solemn 
as  those  which  join  him  to  Christ's  church, 
and  join  him  to  a  wife.  Marriage  is  an 
ordinance  of  God.  It  has  often  proved  a 
"  saving  ordinance "  to  those  who  had  no 
other  tie  to  Christianity.  The  men  whom  a 
wise  marriage  has  saved  (with  God's  blessing) 
are  innumerable.  The  men  whom  a  reckless, 
wretched  marriage  have  ruined,  —  are  their 
histories  not  written  in  the  "  Book  of  the 
Chronicles "  of  prayerless  homes  and  im- 
penitent death-beds  ? 

"  Kebekah,"  said  a  dying  husband  to  the 
wife  who  bent  over  him  in  remorseful  agony, 
—  "  Kebekah,  I  am  a  lost  man.  You  opposed 
our  family  worship  and  my  secret  prayer. 
You  drew  me  away  into  temptation,  and  to 
neglect  every  religious  duty.  I  believe  my 
fate  is  sealed.  Rebekah,  you  are  the  cause 
of  my  everlasting  ruin."  Terrible  in  eternity 
will  be  the  reunion  of  those  who  helped  each 
other  on  the  downward  road,  partners  in  im- 
piety, and  wedded  for  perdition. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  a  man  has  owed 


156  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

his  conversion  to  the  steadfast,  noble,  attrac- 
tive godliness  of  a  praying  wife.  "  I  never 
doubted  the  immediate  answer  of  prayer  since 
the  conversion  of  my  husband,"  said  a  devoted 
Christian  once  to  her  pastor.  He  had  long 
been  a  stranger  to  God,  and  bitter  in  his 
opposition  to  the  Gospel.  During  a  powerful 
revival  in  her  church  she  attended  a  morn- 
ing prayer-meeting.  This  annoyed  him,  and 
he  denounced  it  as  a  waste  of  time,  and 
forbade  her  to  go  again.  Next  morning  she 
came  down  with  her  bonnet  on  to  go  to  the 
meeting.  He  sternly  said,  "  If  you  do  dare 
to  go,  you  will  be  sorry  for  it."  She  could  not 
speak :  the  rudeness  of  her  husband  crushed 
her  into  silence.  But  she  determined  not  to 
retreat ;  and  when  she  reached  the  meeting 
she  could  only  bow  her  face  on  the  desk  be- 
fore her,  and  pour  forth  her  tears  and  prayers 
for  the  obdurate  heart  she  had  left  behind  her. 
There  was  certainly  one  praying  woman  in 
that  gathering. 

When    evening    came,  the   kind   wife   put 
away  the  children  in  the  crib,  took  her  needle, 


WEDDED    FOR    HEAVEN.  iol 

and  sat  down  by  the  fire.  Presently  the  hus- 
band came  in.  "  Wife,  are  you  not  going 
to  meeting  to-night?"  "No,"  she  replied 
gently  :  "  I  thought  I  would  stay  home  with 
you."  He  sat  awhile  in  guilty  silence  :  the 
fire  burned  brightly  in  the  grate,  and  a  hot 
ter  fire  burned  in  the  poor  fellow's  heart. 
"  Wife,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  can't  stand  this 
any  longer.  The  words  I  spoke  this  morning 
to  you  have  tormented  me  all  day.  I  can't 
get  any  peace  till  you  have  forgiven  me  and 
prayed  for  me.  Wont  you  pray  for  me  ? 
Oh,  what  a  life  I  have  led !  "  They  knelt 
together.  "  That  night  I  shall  remember 
through  eternity,"  said  the  happy  woman, 
afterward.  "  There  was  no  sleep  for  us. 
Before  the  dawn  of  day  peace  dawned  into 
his  soul :  we  went  to  the  morning  meeting 
together,  and  he  rose  and  confessed  Jesus  as 
his  Redeemer."  That  man  walked  faithfully 
with  God  ever  after:  from  that  memorable 
day  they  two  were  wedded  for  heaven. 

Happy    are    those   who,  like    Aquila    and 
Priscilla,    are   united   in   the   Lord !     ITappy 


158  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

are  they  who  walk  the  life-journey,  —  all 
the  safer  and  all  the  happier  for  walking  it 
hand  in  hand,  keeping  step  to  the  voice  of 
duty  and  of  God.  Wedded  in  time,  they 
are  wedded  for  heaven ;  and  will  sit  down 
together,  with  exquisite  rapture,  at  the  "  mar- 
riage-supper of  the  Lamb." 


LIKE  FATHER,   LIKE  FAMILY. 


]y /TANY  a  sermon  has  been  preached  to 
-*-^-*-  mothers;  many  a  tract  and  treatise 
written  on  the  mother's  influence.  But  how 
often  are  sermons  preached  to  fathers]  Is 
there  any  power  for  good  or  evil  greater  than 
the  influence  of  him  who  leads  the  family, 
who  propagates  his  own  character  in  the 
persons  and  the  souls  of  his  children,  who 
lives  his  own  life  over  again  in  the  lives  of 
those  whom  he  has  begotten] 

Like  father,  like  family.  Set  this  down  as 
a  philosophical  principle.  Occasional  excep- 
tions do  not  undermine  the  rule  :  it  is  an  or- 
ganic one.  The  father  impresses  himself 
upon  his  children  just  as  undesignedly,  but 
just  as  surely,  as  I  impress  my  shadow  on 
the  ground  when  I  walk  into  the  sunshine. 
The  father  cannot  help  it,  if  he  would.    The 


160  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

father  leads,  by  God's  decree.  He  makes 
the  home-law  ;  fixes  the  precedents  ;  creates 
the  home-atmosphere  ;  and  the  "  odor  of  the 
house  "  clings  to  the  garments  of  the  children 
if  they  go  around  the  globe.  "  His  father 
was  a  Papist,"  or  "  his  father  was  a  Protes- 
tant," is  the  sufficient  reason  that  determines 
most  men's  religious  opinions.  "He  is  a  chip 
of  the  old  block,"  said  some  one  when  he  heard 
the  younger  Pitt's  first  speech.  "  Nay,"  re- 
plied Burke,  "  he  is-  the  old  block  himself." 

In  nothing  is  this  so  true  as  in  moral  resem- 
blances. A  father's  devoted  godliness  is  often 
reproduced  in  his  children.  But  still  oftener 
are  his  errors  and  his  vices.  He  commonly 
sets  the  habits  of  the  household.  Whatever 
"  fires  the  father  kindles,  the  children  gather 
the  wood."  If  the  father  rises  late  on  the 
Sabbath  morning,  the  boys  come  down  late 
and  ill-humored  to  the  table.  If  he  goes 
on  a  Sunday  excursion,  they  must  carry  the 
lunch  and  the  fishing-tackle,  and  share  in 
the  guilty  sports.  If  he  wishes  to  read  a 
Sunday  paper,  then  George  or  Tom  must 
go  out  to  buy  it. 


LIKE    FATHER,    LIKE    FAMILY.  161 

In  looking  over  my  congregation,  I  find 
that,  while  several  pious  fathers  have  un- 
converted children,  there  are  but  few  prayer- 
less  fathers  who  have  converted  sons.  The 
pidl  of  the  father  downward  is  too  strong 
for  the  upward  pull  of  the  Sabbath  school 
and  the  pulpit.  If  the  father  talks  money 
constantly,  he  usually  rears  a  family  for  Mam 
mon.  If  he  talks  pictures  and  books  at  his 
table,  he  is  likely  to  awaken  a  thirst  for 
literature  or  art.  If  he  talks  horses  and 
games  and  prize-fights,  he  brings  up  a  family 
of  jockeys  and  sportsmen.  If  he  makes  his 
own  fireside  attractive  in  the  evening,  he  will 
probably  succeed  in  anchoring  his  children  at 
home.  But  if  he  hears  the  clock  strike  eleven 
in  the  theatre  or  the  club-house,  he  need  not 
be  surprised  if  his  boys  hear  it  strike  twelve 
in  the  gambling-house  or  the  drinking-saloon. 
If  he  leads  in  irreligion,  what  but  the  grace 
of  God  can  keep  his  imitative  household 
from  following  him  to  perdition  ?  The  his- 
tory of  such  a  family  is  commonly  written 
in  that  sadly  frequent   description   given   in 


162  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

the  Old  Testament :  "He  walked  in  all  the 
sins  of  his  father,  which  he  had  done  before 
him." 

I  find  two  very  different  types  of  paternal 
religion.  Both  are  nominally  Christian.  The 
one  parent  prays  at  his  family  altar  for  the 
conversion  of  his  children.  He  then  labors 
to  fulfil  his  own  prayers.  He  makes  religion 
prominent  in  his  family  :  it  is  as  pervasive  as 
the  atmosphere.  The  books  that  are  brought 
home,  the  papers  selected,  the  amusements 
chosen,  the  society  that  is  sought,  the  aims 
in  life  that  are  set  before  those  children,  all 
bear  in  one  direction,  and  that  the  right  one. 
God  is  not  invoked  by  that  father  to  convert 
his  offspring  to  godliness,  while  he  is  doing 
his  utmost  to  pervert  them  to  worldliness,  or 
self-seeking,  or  frivolity,  no  more  than  he 
would  ask  God  to  restore  his  sick  child  while 
he  was  giving  the  poor  boy  huge  doses  of 
opium  or  strychnine. 

Yet  there  is  a  class  of  professing  Chris- 
tians who  do  this  very  thing.  They  pray 
for  a  child's  conversion,  and  yet  on  the  very 


LIKE    FATHER,    LIKE    FAMILY.  163 

evenings  when  prayer-meetings  are  being  held 
they  take  that  son  or  daughter  to  the  opera  or 
the  fashionable  rout.  They  pray  that  their 
households  may  live  for  God,  and  then  set 
them  an  example  of  most  intense  money 
clutching  and  mammon- worship.  A  man 
sits  down  with  a  solemn  face  to  the  com- 
munion-table, and  then  comes  home  to  gossip, 
to  crack  jokes,  to  talk  politics,  to  entertain 
Sunday  visitors  at  a  sumptuous  feast,  to  do 
any  thing  and  every  thing  which  tends  to  dis- 
sipate the  impressions  of  God's  worship  and 
the  sacramental  service.  Such  fathers  never 
follow  up  a  pungent  sermon,  never  watch 
for  opportunities  to  lead  their  children  Christ- 
ward,  never  co-operate  with  God's  Spirit  for 
the  conversion  of  an  impenitent  son  or  daugh- 
ter. What  must  an  ingenuous  child  think  of 
such  a  father's  prayers  ] 

I  entreat  parents  most  solemnly  not  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  their  children's  salva- 
tion. If  you  do  not  help  the  good  work, 
pray  do  not  hinder  it.  The  selfish  or  in- 
consistent  life  of  some  fathers  is  enough  to 


164  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

neutralize  all  the  teachings  and  appeals  of 
both  pulpit  and  Sabbath  school.  To  Paul's 
question,  "  How  knowest  thou,  O  wife  !  if 
thou  mayst  save  thy  husband  ^ "  we  would 
add  the  startling  query,  "  How  knowest  thou, 
O  father !  but  thou  mayst  destroy  thy  own 
children  1" 

How  many  a  devoted  praying  wife  is  strug- 
gling to  lead  her  children  heavenward,  and 
finds  her  every  efi"ort  nullified  by  the  open 
irreligion  of  an  ungodly  father !  She  toils 
on  alone^  prays  on  alone,  works  alone,  and 
weeps  alone  over  their  perils  and  the  fatal 
example  at  their  own  fireside.  God  pity 
and  support  her !  She  is  striving  to  bear 
her  children  on  her  own  shoulders  ;  but  to- 
day her  sad  failure  is  written  in  the  homely 
adage,  Like  father,  like  family. 


WRESTLING  PRAYER. 


u  'TpHERE'S  nae  good  dune,  John,  till  ye  get 
-■-  to  the  close  grups.^^  So  said  "  Jeems, 
the  door-keeper"  of  Broughton  Place  church, 
Edinburgh,  to  the  immortal  Dr.  John  Brown, 
the  author  of  "  Rab  and  his  Friends."  Old 
Jeems  got  into  a  marvellous  nearness  with  God 
in  prayer,  and  conversed  with  Him  as  he  would 
with  his  "  ain  father."  He  understood  the 
power  of  a  close  grip  when  an  earnest  soul  is 
wrestling  with  God  for  a  blessing. 

Jacob,  the  patriarch,  had  such  a  struggle  in 
that  remarkable  and  mystical  scene  at  Penuel. 
We  are  told  that  he  wrestled  with  the  Angel 
of  the  Covenant  —  who  may  have  been  the  in- 
carnate Jesus  —  until  the  breaking  of  the  day. 
The  angel  said,  "  Let  me  go,  the  day  break- 
eth."    Here  was  a  trial  of  the  patriarch's  faith. 


166  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

*'  What  is  that  to  me,"  thought  the  eager  man, 
"  that  the  day  is  breaking  1  I  must  have  the 
blessing  now.  There  is  no  daylight  of  hope 
for  me  unless  I  obtain  what  I  am  struggling 
for.  /  will  not  let  thee  go^  except  thou  bless 
mef     He  triumphed  on  the  spot. 

So  clung  the  Syro-Phoenician  mother  to 
Christ  when  she  was  beseeching  him  to  heal 
her  sick  daughter.  The  Master  seemed  to  put 
her  off,  in  order  to  trv  the  mettle  of  her  faith. 
But  she  came  up  into  what  the  old  Scotchman 
called  a  closer  grip,  with  the  heart  of  infinite 
love,  and  she  carried  the  day.  "  Go  thy  way," 
said  Jesus  unto  her.  "  O  woman!  great  is 
thy  faith ;  be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt." 
And  so  he  granted  to  a  great  faith  what  he 
might  have  denied  to  a  little  faith.  Precisely 
so  is  it  with  Christians  now,  and  with  churches. 
An  honest,  persevering  faith  —  a  faith  that 
works  while  it  prays,  a  faith  that  holds  on 
through  discouragements  —  achieves  the  result 
it  pleads  for.  For  faith  creates  such  a  condi- 
tion of  things  that  it  is  wise  for  God  to  grant 
what  would  otherwise  be  denied. 


WRESTLING   PRAYER.  167 

There  are  many  things  in  the  providence  of 
God  to  which  we  ought  to  submit.  We  ought 
to  submit  unconditionally  and  without  a  mur- 
mur to  chastisements  and  bereavements.  But 
there  are  certain  other  things  placed  in  our 
way  expressly  that  we  may  wrestle  with  them 
and  overcome  them.  If  a  temptation  assails 
us,  we  are  never  to  submit  to  it.  If  a  diffi 
culty  blocks  our  path  of  duty,  then  is  the  time 
for  a  stout  faith  to  "  remove  the  mountain." 
A  father  whose  children  are  yet  unconverted 
has  no  business  to  sit  down  in  silent  submis- 
sion to  such  a  state  of  things.  Neither  has  a 
pastor  or  a  church  any  right  to  sit  down  sub- 
missively to  the  terrible  fact  that  the  truth  is 
powerless,  and  no  souls  are  converted.  The 
Syro-Phoenician  woman  would  have  done 
wrong  if  she  had  gone  home  submissive  when 
Christ  seemed  to  be  denying  her  reasonable 
request.  God  is  a  supreme  sovereign  up  yon- 
der; but  we  are  responsible  free  agents  down 
here.  And  as  a  sovereign  He  has  commanded 
us  to  pray,  to  "  pray  without  ceasing."  He  re- 
Bers'es  to  Himself  the  right  to  grant  our  requests 


168  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

wh^ti  He  chooses  and  as  He  chooses.  It  is 
our  right  to  pray,  and  it  is  God's  right  to  be- 
sto^f  just  such  answers  as  seem  best  to  Him.  I 
would  define  faith  to  be  that  temper  of  the 
sovd  which  submits  to  all  which  God  orders, 
but  never  submits  to  what  God  can  better.  If 
we  yield  to  sin  or  to  discouragements  when  we 
ou^ht  to  struggle  against  them,  or  if  we  yield 
to  the  absence  of  spiritual  blessings  without 
an  earnest  wrestling  for  those  blessings,  we  are 
unworthy  clods,  and  we  deserve  to  suffer. 

What  a  magnificent  epic  are  the  triumphs 
of  faith !  The  Bible  history  fairly  shines  with 
the  bright  record  of  persistent,  prevailing 
prayer.  The  early  Church  were  "  continuing 
with  one  accord  in  supplication"  when  the 
Holy  Spirit  descended  in  the  Pentecost.  When 
the  Apostle  Peter  was  locked  up  in  a  dungeon, 
prayer  was  made  without  ceasing  by  the  peo- 
ple of  God  for  him ;  and  the  heaven-sent 
angel  opened  his  dungeon  doors,  and  sent  him 
to  the  prayer-meeting  as  a  living  witness  to 
their  prevalence  with  God.  >  I  have  seen 
awakened  sinners  come  into  prayer-gatherings 


WRESTLING    PRAYER.  169 

who  were  just  as  truly  delivered  out  of  Satan's 
prison  as  Peter  was,  and  by  the  same  agency 
of  intercessory  prayer.  I  have  known  a 
mother  to  cling  to  the  mercy-seat,  and  to 
wrestle  with  God  until  the  beloved  child  whom 
she  could  not  convert  has  been  converted. 
The  wife  has  wrestled  for  her  impenitent  hus- 
band—  "I  will  not  let  thee  go,  except  Thou 
bless  him ! "  We  have  seen  a  godly  wife  sit 
and  sob  through  a  prayer-meeting  until  the 
handkerchief  that  covered  her  face  was 
soaked  with  tears  ;  and  she  has  gone  home 
to  find  her  husband  himself  weeping  over  his 
sins. 

Prayer  is  power.  When  Luther  was  in  the 
mid-heat  of  his  awful  battle  with  the  Great 
Beast,  he  used  to  say,  "  I  cannot  get  on  with- 
out three  hours  a  day  in  prayer."  John  Welsh, 
of  Scotland,  often  leaped  out  of  his  bed  at 
midnight,  and  wrapped  a  plaid  about  him,  and 
wrestled  with  the  Lord  until  the  breaking  of 
the  day.  His  preaching  was  mighty  when  he 
came  to  his  pulpit  from  these  Penuels  of  plead- 
ing with  his  God.     There  is  many  a  church 


170  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

among  us  which  is  in  a  midnight  of  slumber 
and  barrenness.  But  repentance  and  wrestling 
prayer  will  hring  the  daybreak. 

Unless  we  are  much  mistaken,  there  are 
two  things  which  American  Christians  ought 
to  do.  The  one  is  to  quit  the  companionship 
of  a  self-indulgent,  corrupting  "  world."  The 
other  is  to  come  into  closer  companionship 
with  Christ.  Closer  to  Christ  in  godly  living. 
Closer  in  persevering  prayer.  And  let  us  not 
forget,  brethren,  that  it  is  the  "  close  grup " 
which  achieves  the  victory,  and  brings  the 
revival  blessing. 


GEEAT  EXPECTATIONS— FROM  GOD. 


'^  I  ^HE  less  we  expect  from  this  world  the 
•*•  better  for  us.  The  less  we  expect  from 
our  fellow-men,  whether  of  spmtual  help  or 
of  inspiring  example,  the  smaller  will  be  our 
disappointment.  He  that  leans  on  his  own 
strength  leans  on  a  broken  reed.  We  are  al- 
ways going  to  be  something  stronger,  purer, 
and  holier.  Somewhere  in  the  future  there 
always  hangs  in  the  air  a  golden  ideal  of  a 
higher  life  that  we  are  going  to  reach ;  but 
as  we  move  on  the  dream  of  better  things 
moves  on  before  us  also.  It  is  like  the  child's 
running  over  behind  the  hill  to  catch  the  rain- 
bow. When  he  gets  on  the  hill-top  the  rain- 
bow is  as  far  off  as  ever.  Thus  does  our  day 
dream  of  a  higher  Christian  life  keep  floating 
away  from  us  ;  and  we  are  left  to  realize  what 
frail,  unreliable  creatures  we  are  when  we  rest 


172  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

our  expectations  of  growth  and  of  victory  over 
evil  in  ourselves.  "  My  soul,  wait  thou  only 
upon  God  !  My  expectation  is  only  fror)i 
Eimr 

God  never  deceives  us  and  never  disap- 
points us.  I  do  not  say  that  God  never 
allows  us  to  be  disappointed  in  our  darling 
plans  of  life,  in  our  children,  or  in  our  most 
cherished  projects.  What  I  mean  is,  that  we 
are  never  disappointed  in  God.  When  we 
study  the  Almighty,  whether  in  His  glorious 
Word  or  in  Nature,  we  find  our  utmost  ex- 
pectation overtopped  by  the  stupendous  and 
magnificent  reality.  Eead  such  a  book  as 
"  Ecce  Coelum,"  and  see  if  you  are  disap- 
pointed in  your  Creator.  When,  too,  we 
obey  God,  we  always  find  our  reward,  either 
sooner  or  later,  — just  as  surely  as  light  comes 
with  the  sunrise.  When  we  trust  God,  He 
never  deceives  us.  When  we  pray  to  Him 
aright^  —  that  is,  with  faith,  with  persever- 
ance, with  submissiveness,  and  with  a  single 
eye  to  God's  will,  —  He  answers  us.  He 
always  returns  the  best  answer  possible.    Our 


GREAT    EXPECTATIONS FROM    GOD.         173 

Heavenly  Father  makes  no  mistakes  in  His 
dealings  with  suppliants.  He  is  a  sovereign, 
but  not  a  despot.  If  it  pleases  Him  to  keep 
us  waiting  for  the  trial  of  our  faith,  then  we 
must  wait. 

But  delays  are  not  denials.  God's  long- 
dated promises  are  honored  in  His  own  good 
time.  If  we  had  but  to  demand  from  God 
just  what  we  desired,  and  when  we  desired 
it,  we  should  be  stealing  His  sceptre  and  ruling 
the  Almighty  Euler.  Did  you  ever  know  a 
child  that  ruled  its  parents  without  ruining  it- 
self? And,  if  it  spoils  our  children  to  let  them 
always  have  their  own  way,  I  am  sure  that 
it  would  be  my  ruin  if  I  could  bend  my  Heav- 
enly Father's  will  to  all  my  own  wishes.  If 
this  be  your  "  expectation  "  from  God,  He  will 
very  soon  teach  you  better. 

God  fulfils  no  foolish,  greedy,  presumptu- 
ous requests.  But  He  does  keep  His  promises. 
(He  never  promised  to  let  you  or  me  hold  the 
reins.)  He  always  answers  a  right  prayer, 
and  in  the  way  and  at  the  time  which  His  all- 
wise  love  determines.     And  with  what  unex- 


1 74  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

pected  deliverances  and  blessings  He  often 
loves  to  take  us  by  surprise  !  I  never  went 
through  a  revival  in  my  congregation  without 
discovering  that  I  could  not  trust  God  our 
Saviour  too  much,  or  my  fellow-man  too  little. 
Are  you  ,  Christ's,  my  brother  1  Then  all 
things  are  yours.  In  him  dwelleth  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead.  "  Of  his  fulness 
have  all  we  received,"  said  that  beloved  dis- 
ciple who  leaned  on  the  Saviour's  bosom. 
John  was  never  disappointed  in  his  Lord ; 
nor  was  Paul  either,  when  he  found  him- 
self "  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God." 
There  is  a  fulness  of  sufficiency  in  Christ 
as  a  Divine  Redeemer.  His  blood  cleans- 
eth  from  all  sin.  There  is  a  fulness  of 
justifying  merit  in  him ;  for  "  there  is  no 
condemnation  to  them  who  are  in  Christ 
Jesus."  There  is  a  fulness  of  power  in  him 
who  "  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all 
who  come  unto  God  by  him."  There  is  a 
fulness  of  love  in  him  who  "  having  loved 
his  own  who  are  in  the  world  loveth  them 
to  the  end."     In  my  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 


GREAT    EXPECTATIONS FROM    GOD.       175 

Christ  is  a  fulness  of  grace  and  strength 
and  peace  and  consolation  that  no  man  has 
ever  been  able  to  explore,  and  all  the  needy 
sinners  in  the  universe  could  never  be  able 
to  exhaust. 

To  little  brooks  men  have  often  gone  in 
seasons  of  drought,  and  found  only  a  parched 
bed,  cracked  open  with  the  heat.  But  who 
ever  saw  the  Atlantic  low  ?  What  ship  ever 
failed  to  set  sail  for  Liverpool  through  lack  of 
water  %  Oh !  the  depth  of  the  riches  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  and  grace  of  God ! 
\x''hen  some  one  urged  old  John  Jacob  Astor 
to  subscribe  for  a  certain  object,  and  told  him 
tl  xi  his  own  son  had  subscribed  to  it  already, 
tLi  old  man  replied,  very  dryly:  "Ah!  he 
has  got  a  rich  father ^  Brother,  you  and  I 
have  got  a  rich  Father,  too.  You  are  an  heir 
of  the  King  of  kings.  Then  ask  for  great 
things,  for  "  all  our  expectation  is  from  Him." 

God  must  take  it  ill  in  us  that  we  ask 
for  so  little,  and  with  such  a  puny  faith. 
He  says :  "  Open  your  mouth  wide,  and  I 
will   fill   it."     He   must  wonder  that  we  ex- 


176  THOUGHT-HIVES'. 

pect  SO  little  from  Him.  "  The  Lord  taketh 
pleasure  "  —  in  whom  ?  Why,  in  "  those 
that  hope  in  His  mercy.  He  loveth  to  be 
inquired  after."  Oh,  if  we  would  only  ex- 
pect enough,  and  strive  after  enough,  and 
ask  enough  from  our  infinitely  rich  Father 
up  yonder,  who  can  tell  what  blessings  we 
might  obtain  ! 

Paul  only  expressed  the  unanimous  judg- 
ment of  all  the  heirs  in  God's  household 
when  he  exclaimed :  "I  hyiow  whom  I  have 
believed."  He  summed  up  his  glorious  past 
and  his  expectations  for  the  future  when  he 
cried  out  with  rapture :  "I  have  finished  my 
course ;  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous- 
ness which  the  righteous  Judge  shall  give 
me  in  that  day  ! "  Paul  "  looked  for  "  that 
magnificent  inheritance.  So  do  I.  So  may 
you,  if  you  are  a  follower  of  Jesus.  I  ex- 
pect that  if  I  endure  to  the  end  I  shall  be 
saved.  I  expect,  and  confidently,  too,  that 
through  faith  I  shall  be  kept  by  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation.     I  expect  that  when 


GREAT    EXPECTATIONS FROM    GOD.        177 

I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death  He  will  be  with  me  ;  His  rod  and  His 
staff  will  comfort  me.  Heaven  is  to  me 
only  an  expectation.  So  is  to-morrow's  sun- 
rise. I  have  not  yet  seen  either  of  them ; 
but  they  are  coming.  Behind  this  day's 
midnight  lies  to-morrow's  dawn.  Behind 
that  night  called  death  lies  the  day-dawn 
of  Heaven's  exceeding  w^eight  of  glory ! 

I  expect  that,  if  I  hold  fast  to  Christ,  1 
shall  see  it.  Beyond  all  that  human  eye 
hath  yet  seen  or  human  ear  heard  is  that 
glory  to  be  revealed  to  me !  T  expect  a  joy 
that  shall  be  to  me  as  a  "  harp,"  and  a 
triumph  that  shall  be  to  me  as  a  "  palm," 
and  a  glory  that  shall  be  as  a  "  crown  unfad- 
ing.'* Figurative  or  not  though  the  words 
may  be,  I  expect  the  substance  which  they 
describe.  My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon 
God ;  my  expectation  is  from  Sim  ! 

"  Our  knowledge  of  that  life  is  small, 
The  eye  of  faith  is  dim ; 
But  'tis  enough  that  Christ  knows  all, 
And  we  shall  be  like  him  ! " 
8» 


HYMNS  OF  LONGING  FOR  EEST. 


"  /^H  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  for  then 
^-^  would  I  fly  away,  and  be  at  rest ! " 
The  reference  in  this  beautiful  verse  is  to  the 
turtle-dove  of  Palestine,  a  bird  of  such  free 
spirit  that  if  confined  in  a  cage,  it  soon  droops 
and  dies.  How  often  the  child  of  God 
breathes  this  yearning  aspiration  for  a  higher 
and  a  holier  atmosphere !  How  often,  in  sea- 
sons of  grief  and  disappointment  and  utter 
disgust  with  the  inconstancy  of  our  fellow- 
creatures,  the  homesick  heart  pines  for  escape 
into  the  very  bosom  of  Jesus  !  For  there  only 
is  rest,  full,  sweet,  and  all-satisfying. 

This  aspiration  is  not  only  breathed  in 
prayer.  It  is  uttered  in  song.  Many  of  our 
richest  hymns  are  prayers  in  metre.  And  few 
yearnings  break  forth  oftener  in  the  psalmodies 


HYMNS    OF    LONGING    FOR    REST.  179 

of  God's  people  than  the  yearning  for  soul- 
rest.  Of  the  hymns  that  are  pitched  to  this 
key  we  might  mention  many.  Of  the  hymnists 
who  have  composed  them,  none  is  more  cele- 
brated than  Ja^ies  Montgomery. 

He  is  the  Cowper  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury,—  not  in  the  poetry  of  nature,  but  in 
sacred  song.  Scotland  gave  him  birth,  as  she 
did  to  Henry  Lyte  and  Horatius  Bonar.  He 
was  born  in  Ayrshire,  the  land  of  Robert 
Burns,  in  1771.  His  father  was  a  Moravian 
missionary,  who  labored  and  died  in  the  West 
Indies.  James  united  with  the  Moravian 
Church  at  the  age  of  forty-three,  and  his  mem- 
ory is  held  in  high  veneration  among  that 
small  but  true-hearted  band  of  Christians. 
The  Moravian  body  is  like  a  tube-rose,  small 
in  bulk,  but  sends  its  sweet  odors  afar  off. 
With  this  communion  Montgomery  w^or- 
shipped  until  in  his  later  years,  and  then  he 
attended  an  evangelical  Episcopal  church  (St. 
George's)  in  Sheffield,  England. 

During  my  student  days  I  spent  some  time 
at  Sheffield,  and  often  met  the  venerable  poet. 


180  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

He  was  small  of  stature,  with  hair  as  white  as 
snow.  Although  he  had  long  been  an  editor, 
—  and  once  been  imprisoned  for  his  bold  utter- 
ances in  his  newspaper,  the  /m,  —  he  would 
be  easily  mistaken  for  a  clergyman.  He  wore 
an  exceedingly  conspicuous  white  cravat, 
which  reached  close  to  his  chin,  and  gave  you 
the  impression  that  he  was  suffering  from  a 
chronic  sore  throat.  When  I  first  called  on 
him  at  his  residence,  "The  Mount,"  several  of 
his  most  familiar  lines  began  to  repeat  them- 
selves to  me,  such  as,  — 

**  Friend  after  friend  departs. 
Who  hath  not  lost  a  friend  ?  " 

And  that  other  exquisite  verse,  which  often 
weaves  itself  into  our  secret  devotions :  — 

*'  Here  in  the  body  pent, 

Absent  from  Him  I  roam ; 
Yet  nightly  pitch  my  moving  tenty 
One  day''s  march  nearer  home.'*'* 

There  are  few  finer  verses  in  the  whole 
range  of  devotional  poetry.  It  is  a  pilgrim's 
wayfaring  song,  as  he  pulls  up  the  tent-pins 


HYMNS    OF    LONGING    FOR    REST.  181 

every  morning,  and  moves  onward  towards  his 
everlasting  rest. 

Montgomery  never  visited  this  country,  but 
he  was  full  of  warm  enthusiasm  towards 
America,  in  whose  churches  his  hymns  are 
sung  every  Sabbath.  He  was  also  full  of  hon- 
est indignation  that  so  many  people  would 
persist  in  confounding  him  with  the  spasmodic 
Eobert  Montgomery,  whose  poem  on  "  Satan  " 
has  been  impaled,  like  a  buzzing  beetle  on  a 
pin,  by  the  sharp  pen  of  Macaulay.  "  Only 
think,"  said  the  dear  old  poet  to  me,  "  that  I 
should  have  just  got  a  letter  telling  me  that 
my  poem  on  Satan  is  the  hest  I  ever  wrote" 
I  do  not  wonder  that  his  wrath  waxed  warm 
under  such  an  imputation.  The  last  time  I 
ever  saw  the  veteran,  he  was  sitting  in  his 
pew  at  St.  George's,  the  "  good,  gray  head " 
bending  reverently  over  his  prayer-book,  as  he 
joined  in  the  responses.  He  ''  flew  away,  and 
was  at  rest,"  in  1854,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty-three. 

Montgomery's  most  popular  hymn  is  that 
one  which  breathes  out  the  longing  of  a  weary 
heart :  — 


182  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

**  Oh !  where  shall  rest  be  found,  — 
Rest  for  the  weary  soul  ? 
'Twere  vain  the  ocean  depths  to  sound. 
Or  pierce  to  either  pole." 

Ten  thousand  times  have  God's  best  beloved 
children,  when  made  sick  at  the  worthlessness 
and  emptiness  of  worldly  treasures,  broke  out 
in  the  fervid  protestation :  — 

**  This  world  can  never  give 

The  bliss  for  which  we  sigh ; 
'Tis  not  the  whole  of  life  to  live, 
Nor  all  of  death  to  die." 

Of  Montgomery's  other  favorite  hymns, 
'*  Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire,"  and 
"  What  are  these  in  bright  array,"  I  wish  I 
had  space  to  speak.  But  we  must  confine  our- 
selves in  this  brief  article  to  those  songs  of 
Zion  which  are  full  of  longings  for  the  better 
life  and  the  better  land. 

Of  this  class  of  hymns  there  is  one  which 
everybody  knows  and  everybody  sings,  and  yet 
almost  nobody  knows  its  authorship.  For 
Robert  Seagrave  is  one  of  God's  "  hidden 
ones  "  from  all  celebrity  in  the  world  of  letters. 


HYMNS    OF    LONGING    FOR    REST.  183 

He  was  a  minister  of  the  English  Established 
Church,  but  being  a  caged  dove  there,  he 
broke  loose  into  Dissent.  This  unfettered 
spirit  of  his  gave  birth  to  that  vigorous  hymn 
whose  uplift  has  carried  us  often  into  the 
higher  climes  •  — 

**Kise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings, 
Thy  better  portion  trace  ; 
Rise  from  transitory  things, 

Towards  heaven,  thy  native  place.'* 

Seagrave  sang  this  one  bird-song  about  the 
year  1748,  but  I  never  heard  that  he  sang 
again.  But  his  inspiring  lyric  is  ringing  yet, 
like  the  notes  of  a  lark  at  the  gates  of  heaven. 
Probably  all  the  sermons  preached  that  year 
throughout  Christendom  have  not  lifted  so 
many  souls  towards  the  gates  of  pearl  as  that 
single  melody  of  Eobert  Seagrave.  We  must 
all  seek  to  become  acquainted  with  him  in  our 
Father's  house. 

Yes,  and  we  shall  all  love  to  know  Horatius 
Bonar  there,  and  thank  him  for  his  many 
hymns,  so  full  of  heavenward  aspiration. 
Another  singer,  from  our  own  land  too,  who 


184  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

has  lately  flown  above  the  clouds,  sweet, 
sorrowful  Phebe  Gary.  For  she  taught  us  all 
to  sing,  amid  our  care-burdens  and  our 
crosses,  — 

**  One  sweetly  solemn  thought 
Comes  to  me  o'er  and  o'er : 
I  am  nearer  home  to-day 

Than  I  ever  have  been  before.'' 


SUNSHINY  CHEISTIANS, 


"  A  CHEEKFUL  heart  doeth  good  like  a 
-^  ^  medicine."  Our  translation  has  it  a 
"  merry  heart ; "  but  the  word  has  got  rather 
"  dissipated"  in  these  modern  days,  and  savors 
of  jollity,  rather  than  wholesome  heart-joys. 
Once  the  word  had  so  discreet  a  meaning  that 
the  apostle  inquires,  "  Is  any  one  merry  ?  Let 
him  sing  psalms."  It  is  the  same  Greek  ex- 
pression as  that  one  used  by  Paul  in  the 
midnight  tempest,  when  he  exhorted  his 
fellow-voyagers  to  "  be  of  good  cheer." 

There  is  a  cheerfulness  that  is  a  Christian 
duty ;  yea,  that  is  distinctly  commanded  to 
every  heir  of  God.  "  Eejoice  always;  and 
again  I  say,  rejoice."  This  cheerfulness  is 
not  the  mere  effervescence  of  animal  spirits. 
Nor  is  it  born  of  the  decanter  or  the  dance. 
It  depends   in   no  wise    on   exernal    circum- 


186  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

stances.  Christian  cheerfulness  is  that  sun- 
shiny, hopeful,  happy  frame  which  comes 
from  heart-health.  Such  a  temper  of  mind 
doeth  the  body  good  "  like  a  medicine." 
For  many  a  lean  dyspeptic  is  dying  of  sheer 
worry  and  peevishness.  The  acrid  humors 
of  the  mind  strike  through,  and  disease  the 
digestive  organs.  The  medicine  such  a  man 
wants  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  drug  store. 
A  good  dose  of  divine  grace,  with  a  few 
grains  of  thankfulness,  and  a  bracing  walk 
on  some  labor  of  love  to  the  poor,  will  do 
more  to  put  healthy  blood  into  his  weazen 
skeleton  than  all  the  drugs  of  the  apothe- 
cary. A  "merry  heart''  was  about  all  the 
medicine  that  old  Lyman  Beecher  ever  took. 
Cheerfulness,  be  it  remembered,  is  a  tem- 
per of  the  soul,  and  not  dependent  on  ex- 
ternal conditions.  Some  of  the  most  miserable 
people  we  wot  of  are  grumbling  every  day 
over  porcelain  and  silver,  and  lay  their 
wretched  heads  every  night  on  embroidered 
pillows.  The  sunniest  hearts  I  have  ever 
found   in    my    pastoral    rounds    have   often 


SUNSHINY    CHRISTIANS.  187 

been  lodged  in  houses  so  poverty-stricken 
and  obscure  that  even  the  tax  collector  never 
found  them.  They  were  people  who  had  very 
little  of  this  world,  but  a  great  deal  of  the  next. 
They  took  short  views  of  this  life,  but  long 
ones  of  the  life  to  come.  Living  pretty  much 
"from  hand  to  mouth,"  they  learn  to  trust 
God  a  great  deal  more  than  their  prosperous 
brethren,  who  secretly  trust  —  their  own  bank 
accounts  and  government  bonds. 

The  happiest  heart  I  encounter  in  Brooklyn 
belongs  to  an  aged  cripple,  who  lives  on  char- 
ity in  a  fourth  story.  She  is  old  and  poor,  and 
without  relatives,  and  lost  even  the  power  of 
speech  twenty  years  ago  !  By  dint  of  hard 
effort  she  can  make  a  few  words  intelligible. 
But  I  never  saw  that  withered  face  distorted 
by^a  frown  ;  and  a  few  Sabbaths  since,  when 
she  was  carried  in  to  the  communion-table,  I 
looked  down  from  the  pulpit  into  that  old 
saint's  countenance,  and  it  "  shone  like  the 
face  of  an  angel."  She  lives  every  day  on 
the  sunny  side  of  Providence,  and  feeds  hun- 
grily on  the  promises.      Jesus  knows  where 


188  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

she  lives.  He  "  oft-times  resorts  thither." 
She  is  one  of  his  hidden  ones.  That  old 
disciple  will  not  have  far  to  go  when  the 
summons  comes  from  her  Father's  house. 
She  lives,  near  the  gate  now,  and  catches 
the  odors  and  the  music  of  that  "  marriage 
supper "  for  which  she  has  her  wedding  gar- 
ment on.  Would  to  God  that  some  of  the 
sour-spirited,  morose,  and  melancholy  Chris- 
tians of  our  acquaintance  could  drop  in  -to 
that  old  woman's  garret  occasionally,  and 
borrow  a  vial  of  her  sunshine  ! 

Those  who  cannot  visit  such  an  ante- 
chamber of  heaven  for  themselves  may 
enjoy  a  kindred  satisfaction  in  reading  the 
brief  biography  of  old  "  Uncle  Johnson,"  — 
a  tract  of  twenty-five  pages,  published  by  the 
"  Presbyterian  Board."  Johnson  was  a  Vir- 
ginia negro,  who  died  in  Michigan  at  the 
almost  incredible  age  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty !  He  never  would  have  lasted  so 
long  if  he  had  not  —  like  Father  Cleveland, 
of  Boston  —  carried  about  with  him  that  cheer- 
ful heart   that   doeth   good   like  a  medicine. 


SUNSHINY    CHRISTIANS.  189 

One  day  when  he  was  at  work  in  his  gar- 
den, singing  and  shouting,  his  pastor  looked 
over  the  fence  and  said :  "  Uncle,  you  seem 
very  happy  to-day."  "  Yes,  massa.  I'se  just 
tinking."  "What  are  you  thinking  about?" 
"  Oh !  I'se  just  tinking  "  (and  the  tears  rolled 
down  his  black  face)  —  "  I'se  tinking  dat  if  de 
crumbs  of  joy  dat  fall  from  de  Massa's  table  in 
dis  world  is  so  good,  what  will  de  great  loaf  in 
glory  be !  I  tells  ye,  sir,  dar  will  be  enuf  and 
to  spare  up  dar." 

Once  Mr.  F said  to  him,  "  Uncle  John- 
son, why  don't  you  get  into  our  meetings  once 
in  a  while  % "  He  answered :  "  Massa,  I  wants 
to  be  dere ;  but  I  can't  ^have  myself."  "You 
can't  hehave  V  "  Well,  massa,  ob  late  years 
de  flesh  is  gettin'  weak ;  and  when  dey  gwin 
to  talk  and  sing  about  Jesus,  I  gins  to  fill  up, 
and  putty  soon  I  has  to  holler^  and  den  some 
one'll  say,  '  Carry  dat  man  out  de  door,  he 
'sturbs  de  meetin.'  "  "  But  you  should  hold 
in  till  you  get  home."  "  O  massa !  I  can't 
hold  in.  I  hu8t  if  I  don't  holler."  (Would 
not  it  be  a  blessed  thing   for   some    prayer- 


1 90  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

meetings  that  are  now  dying  of  dignity  if 
they  could  have  such  a  "holler"  to  wake 
them  out  of  thek  slumber?)  This  jubilant 
old  negro  lived  in  literal  dependence  on  God. 
When  a  gift  w^as  made  to  him,  he  received  it 
as  if  sent  to  him  by  Elijah's  ravens.  "  When 
I  wants  any  ting,  I  jes  asks  de  Lord,  and  He  is 
sure  to  send  it;  sometimes  afore  I'se  done 
askin',  and  den  sometimes  He  holds  back, 
jus'  to  see  if  I  trust  Him."  One  of  the  last 
things  remembered  of  him  was  the  message 
he  gave  to  a  minister  who  called  to  see  him, 
when  he  was  "  waitin'  for  de  chariot  ob  de 
Lord."  "  O  massa  !  "  said  he,  "  if  you  gets 
home  afore  I  do,  tell  'em  to  keep  de  table 
Stan  din',  for  old  Johnson  is  holdin'  on  his 
way.     I'se  bound  to  be  dere." 

We  have  given  so  much  of  this  article  to 
a  sketch  of  this  sunny-souled  pilgrim,  not 
only  because  it  might  be  new  to  most  of 
our  readers,  but  because  such  a  living  ex- 
ample of  a  "  merry  heart "  is  more  impres- 
sive than  a  sermon  on  cheerfulness.  There 
are  three  or  four  "  recipes  "  for  securing  this 
sunshine  in  the  soul. 


SUNSHINY    CHRISTIANS.  191 

(1.)  Look  at  your  mercies  with  hoth  eyes; 
and  at  your  troubles  and  trials  with  only 
half  an  eye. 

(2.)  Study  contentment.  In  these  days  ^of 
inordinate  greed  and  self-indulgence,  keep 
down  the  accursed  spirit  of  grasping.  What 
they  don't  have  makes  thousands  wretched. 

(3.)  Keep  at  some  work  of  usefulness. 
Such  men  as  "  Uncle  Vassar "  and  John 
Wanamaker  are  seldom  troubled  with  the 
blues.     Work  for  Christ  brings  heart-health. 

(4.)  Keep  your  heart's  window  always 
open  toward  heaven.  Let  the  blessed  light 
of  Jesus'  countenance  shine  in.  It  will  turn 
tears  into  rainbows.  The  author  of  "  Nearer, 
my  God,  to  Thee  "  has  sweetly  sung  :  — 

**  He  sendeth  sun,  he  sendeth  shower, 
Alike  they're  needful  to  the  flower ; 
And  joys  and  tears  alike  are  sent, 
To  give  the  soul  fit  nourishment. 
As  comes  to  me  or  cloud  or  sun, 
Father !  Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done." 


THE   BITTER  WATEES   SWEETENED. 


'THHEEE  days  of  torrid  and  thirsty  travel 
-*-  from  the  Red  Sea  brought  the  children 
of  Israel  to  a  fountain  in  the  desert.  All  rush 
forward  eagerly  for  a  cooling  draught.  But 
alas  !  the  waters  are  so  bitter  that  neither  man 
nor  beast  can  drink  them.  The  disappointing 
spring  is  at  once  named  by  the  murmuring 
Israelites,  Marah^  which  signifies  the  waters 
of  "  bitterness." 

To  this  day  a  fountain  is  known  (about 
seventeen  hours'  travel  from  the  "  wells  of 
Moses"),  which  the  Arabs  still  call  Hoioara. 
It  is  supposed  by  many  geographers  to  be  the 
identical  spring  of  Mar  ah,  for  its  waters  are 
exceedingly  brackish.  Prof.  Stanley  of  Ox- 
ford mentions  a  spring  a  short  distance  south 
of  Howara  which  ''  was  so  bitter  that  neither 
men  nor  camels  could  drink  it." 


THE    BITTER    WATERS    SWEETENED.  193 

Beside  one  of  these  two  fountains  of  bitter- 
ness stood  the  great  host  of  thirsty  Israel,  with 
a  terrible  bitterness  of  disappointment  in  their 
hearts.  They  cry  out  against  God.  The 
deliverance  at  the  Eed  Sea  is  forgotten.  Past 
mercies  are  lost  sight  of,  and  present  griefs 
seem  to  stir  up  all  the  acrid  humors  within 
them.  They  murmur  against  Moses,  and  ex- 
claim despairingly,  "  What  shall  we  drink  1  " 

Fellow-pilgrims  to  the  promised  land,  how 
exactly  this  scene  tallies  with  our  own  experi- 
ences !  Right  after  happy  days  of  prosperity 
and  mercy,  we  come  suddenly  upon  a  Marah 
of  bitter  disappointment.  We  had  set  our 
hearts  upon  some  favorite  project.  Perhaps 
we  were  going  on  a  long-coveted  tour,  and  had 
made  all  our  arrangements.  But  the  day  for 
the  departure  finds  us  on  a  sick-bed  ;  and  the 
medicine  we  swallow  is  not  half  so  hard  to 
take  as  the  disappointment.  Selfishness  mur- 
murs and  chafes  under  the  trial.  But  pres- 
ently we  begin  to  see  that  this  bed  of  sickness 
lay  right  on  the  road  to  Canaan.  We  begin 
to  talk  with  our  own  hearts,  and  to  think  over 

9 


194  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

our  past  lives.  We  begin  to  pray  with  a  new 
hunger  of  soul,  and  to  read  God's  promises 
with  new  eyes.  We  make  fresh  covenant 
with  God,  that,  if  He  will  restore  us  to  health, 
we  will  use  it  for  Him,  and  will  walk  more 
closely  with  Him.  We  take  up  one  precious 
promise  after  another,  and  drop  it  into  the 
fountain  of  trial,  and  lo !  the  waters  begin  to 
taste  sweeter  to  us !  Prayer  becomes  sweeter, 
and  Christ's  presence  sweeter,  and  something 
within  us  w^hispers,  "  After  all,  is  hot  this  bet- 
ter for  us  than  the  journey  to  Europe  or  to  the 
mountains  ]  Is  it  not  good  for  me  that  I  have 
been  shut  up  here  with  Jesus  1 " 

Now  this  was  just  what  happened  to  angry 
and  disappointed  Israel.  The  Lord  showed 
to  Moses  a  tree,  which,  when  he  had  cast  it 
into  the  fountain,  made  the  waters  to  become 
so  sweet  that  the  whole  host  drank  of  them 
with  delight.  I  doubt  whether  God  created 
that  tree  miraculously ;  he  simply  "  showed  " 
it  to  Moses.  So  God  does  not  create  a  Bible 
or  a  mercy-seat,  or  an  atonement,  or  a  jewel- 
casket  of  promises,  or  supplies  of  grace,  espe- 


THE    BITTER    WATERS    SWEETENED.         195 

cially  for  us.  His  Spirit  simply  opens  our 
eyes  to  see  them,  and  our  hearts  to  enjoy 
them.  He  reveals  to  us  the  tree  of  healing 
which  turns  a  draught  of  bitterness  into  a 
draught  of  holy  joy.     Thus, — 

•*  Trials  make  the  promise  sweet, 
Trials  give  new  life  to  prayer, 
Bring  me  to  the  Saviour's  feet, 
Lay  me  low,  and  keep  tne  there." 

It  is  delightful  to  sit  down  beside  a  child  ot 
God  who  has  in  his  hand  a  bitter  cup  of  trial, 
but  the  "  sweet  breath  of  Jesus"  has  turned 
the  bitterness  into  such  a  blessing  that  he 
"  tastes  the  love "  of  Jesus  in  every  drop. 

1  love  to  hear  old  Richard  Baxter  exclaim, 
after  a  life  of  constant  suffering,  "  O  my 
God !  I  thank  Thee  for  a  bodily  discipline  of 
eight-and-fifty  years." 

I  love  to  sit  down  by  Harlan  Page  and 
hear  him  say,  "  A  bed  of  pain  is  a  precious 
place,  when  we  have  the  presence  of  Christ. 
God  does  not  send  one  unnecessary  affliction. 
Lord  !  I  thank  thee  for  suffering.  I  deserve  it. 
I  deserve  death  eternal.    Let  me  not  complain 


lyb  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

or  dictate.  I  commit  myself  to  thee,  O  Sav- 
iour, and  to  thy  infinite  love.  I  stop  my 
mouth,  and  lie  low  beside  thee!"  So  God 
built  up  that  blood-bought  soul  faster  than 
disease  was  pulling  down  the  frail  tenement 
in  which  it  dwelt.  And  through  the  rents 
heaven's  glory  shone  in  with  rapturous  radi- 
ance ! 

I  suppose  there  is  rarely  a  Marah  on  earth 
more  bitter  than  that  which  a  father  or  mother 
reaches,  when  they  bend  over  the  coffin  which 
holds  the  darling  of  their  hearts  and  home. 
In  all  God's  chemistry,  is  there  any  solvent 
which  can  sweeten  such  a  draught  of  disap- 
pointment ] 

Yes,  there  is !  I  have  now  before  me  a 
tear-moistened  letter  from  my  beloved  brother 

W ,    the    superintendent    of    the   famous 

B Sabbath  school.     It  was  written  by  the 

waters  of  Marah.  But  mark  how  the  angel 
of  love  is  letting  fall  the  sweetening  leaves  into 
the  fountain.     Brother  W writes  :  — 

"  Our  darling  Hattie  was  another  of  God's 
beautiful  things,  wise  beyond  her  years,  more 


THE    BITTER    WATERS    SWEETENED.         197 

like  a  sister  to  us  older  ones,  than  like  a  little 
child.  On  the  last  Sabbath  morning  that  she 
came  to  the  breakfast  table,  she  had,  as  usual, 
her  text ;  but  it  was  a  new  one  to  her.  '  Hide 
me  under  the  shadow  of  Thy  >ving.'  God 
heard  the  little  tired  body's  prayer,  and  gath- 
ered the  lamb  to  His  bosom.  We  watched 
and  watched  beside  her ;  and  when  all  others 
had  given  her  up,  I  was  still  hopeful,  and  tak- 
ing the  physician  aside  I  inquired,  '  Doctor, 
will  she  wake  up,  do  you  think  1 '  His  reply 
almost  killed  me  as  he  covered  his  face  and 
sobbed  the  answer,  '  No  :  not  till  she  wakes  in 
heaven ! '  O  my  brother !  I  cannot  tell  you 
the  anguish  of  that  moment.  I  sat  in  the 
shadow  of  our  great  affliction,  dumb.  But 
Christ  Jesus,  the  man  of  sorrows,  was  ac- 
quainted with  my  grief.  He  put  his  everlast- 
ing arm  around  me,  —  the  friend  that  sticketh 
closer  than  a  brother.  Unto  those  that  be- 
lieve, he  is  precious  ;  and  never  more  so  than 
when  he  brings  heaven  close  up  to  us." 

Beautiful    words    of  a  victorious    soul !     J 
send  them  through  these  pages  as  a  bougt 


198  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

from  the  tree  of  experience,  to  sweeten  the 
fountain  of  bitterness  beside  which  many  of 
my  reader'=i  may  be  sitting  to-day.  If  God's 
grac^  can  make  the  waters  of  trial  so  sweet 
on  earth,  what  will  the  fountain  he  in  heaven  f 


THE  GREAT  HYMN  OF  PROVIDENCE. 


A  CORRESPONDENT  expresses  some  sur- 
-^^^  prise  that  in  sketching  the  biographies 
of  many  of  the  foremost  favorites  in  our  Chris- 
tian hymnology,  no  notice  had  yet  been  taken 
of  Cowper's  masterpiece.  Certainly  it  was  not 
from  lack  of  loving  admiration  for  a  hymn 
which  justly  ranks  among  the  half-dozen  sub- 
limest  compositions  in  the  whole  range  of 
sacred  song.  But  it  is  not  easy  to  say  any 
thing  new  about  so  familiar  a  production.  Let 
us  briefly  sketch  its  remarkable  origin,  for  the 
information  of  those  who  have  often  sung  it 
through  tears,  and  yet  never  knew  that  it  was 
born  of  tears  and  trials  from  the  most  gifted 
poetic  soul  in  Britain. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  year  1773  Cow- 
per  was  residing  at  Olney,  on  the  borders  of 
Huntingdonshire.      He    had    recovered    from 


200  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

the  awful  gloom  of  that  partial  insanity  which 
had  cast  its  fearful  cloud  over  his  early  man- 
hood. Close  by  him  lived  and  preached  that 
robust  man  and  minister  of  Christ,  John  New- 
ton. They  became  as  intimate  as  David  and 
Jonathan  ;  and  it  was  from  their  very  dissimi- 
larity that  there  grew  up  such  a  loving  fellow- 
ship between  the  bluff  and  brawny  converted 
sailor,  and  the  timid  melancholy  poet.  New- 
ton brought  to  Cowper  just  what  he  wanted 
—  a  devout  spiritual  guide,  and  a  soul-cheer- 
ing companion. 

Between  the  two  was  originated  and  com- 
pleted the  rich  and  heaven-born  Olney  Hymns. 
To  this  famous  collection  John  Newton  con- 
tributed two  hundred  and  eighty-six  hymns  — 
and  Cowper  added  sixty-two.  But  the  smaller 
contribution  proved  to  be  the  more  precious 
in  weight  of  metal.  Among  Newton's  many 
hymns  are  a  few  which  God's  people  will 
always  love  to  sing.  But  to  that  collection 
Cowper  s  genius  brought  those  two  gems  of 
devotion,  '^  O  for  a  closer  walk  with  God," 
and  "  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood." 


THE  GREAT  HYMN  OF  PROVIDENCE.    20] 

It  yet  remained  for  him  to  contribute  one  more 
—  and  one  which  ranks  as  the  grandest  Hymn 
of  Providence  in  our  mother  tongue. 

For  seven  years  Cowper  had  been  compara 
tively  cheerful.  The  sun  shone  and  the  birds 
sang  in  his  spiritual  sky.  But  a  foreboding 
impression  of  another  attack  of  insanity  began 
to  creep  over  him.  The  presentiment  grew 
deeper.  The  clouds  gathered  fast.  It  is  said 
that  he  even  meditated  self-destruction,  and 
left  his  quiet  cottage  to  drown  himself  in  the 
neighboring  river  Ouse  !  Whether  this  state- 
ment be  true  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  he  went 
forth  from  his  house  under  the  pall  of  an  over- 
whelming gloom.  Just  while  these  black 
clouds  of  despair  were  darting  their  vivid 
lightnings  into  his  suffering  soul,  the  grandest 
inspiration  of  his  life  broke  upon  him,  and  he 
began  to  sing  out  these  wonderful  words :  — 

**  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform ; 
He  plants  His  footsteps  in  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm." 

For  several  years  Cowper's  splendid  intel 


202  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

lect  was  to  be  under  a  total  eclipse.  The 
penumbra  was  already  darkening  its  disc.  But 
in  full  view  of  the  impending  calamity,  the 
inspu*^d  son  of  song  chanted  forth  those 
strains  of  holy  cheer :  — 

**  Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense. 

But  trust  Him  for  His  grace ; 
Behind  a  frowning  piovidence, 
He  hides  a  smiling  face." 

Cowper  never  could  have  sung  that  sublime 
anthem  of  victory  except  under  the  immediate 
inspiration  of  the  "  power  from  on  high."  It 
was  to  be  his  last  song  for  many  years.  The 
storm  was  coming,  but  Cowper's  eye  of  faith 
saw  Jehovah  "  riding  above  the  storm."  The 
heavens  gathered  blackness,  but  the  ineffable 
smile  of  his  Divine  Lord  lurked  behind  the 
tempest.  The  "  bud  "  of  sorrow  which  was 
springing  fast  did  have  "  a  bitter  taste,"  —  the 
very  wormwood  was  not  more  bitter,  —  but 
ph,  how  "  sweet  the  flower  "  that  it  unfolded ! 

This  matchless  hymn  of  providence  which 
God  put  into  the  soul  of  His  afflicted  servant 
has  been  a  "  song  in  the  night"  to  milHons  of 


THE  GREAT  HYMN  OF  PROVIDENCE.   203 

His  people  when  under  the  discouraging  clouds 
of  adversity.  A  beloved  friend  in  the  city  of  St. 
Johns  tells  me  that  during  the  terrible  famine 
in  Lancashire,  England,  the  work  ran  low  at 
one  of  the  cotton-mills.  Occupation  and 
wages  grew  less  day  by  day.  At  length  the 
overseer  met  the  half-starved  operatives,  and 
announced  to  them  the  fatal  tidings,  "  There 
is  no  more  work."  Flickering  hope  went  out 
in  black  despair.  One  delicate  sweet  girl  — 
thin  and  pale  with  suffering  —  arose  amid  the 
heart-broken  company  and  began  to  sing  the 
cheering  words  she  had  learned  in  the  Sunday 
school :  — 

**  Ye  fearfiil  saints,  fresh  courage  take  I 
The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head. 

*•  Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err, 
And  scan  His  work  in  vain ; 
God  is  His  own  interpreter, 
And  He  will  make  it  plain." 

A  sunburst  of  hope  came  over  the  despair- 
ing company  when  the  sweet  strain  was  ended. 
It  proved  a  prophecy.      For  the   proprietors 


204  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

determined  to  struggle  on  a  while  longer, — 
and  ere  long  that  mill  was  running  again  at 
full  work.  This  scene  was  a  parable.  It  had 
its  counterpart  in  the  darkest  hours  of  our 
nation's  conflict,  when  we  once  heard  Cowper's 
sublime  lines  quoted  in  a  vast  patriotic  meet- 
ing, amid  tears  and  thunders  of  applause. 
Thousands  of  God's  children  have  chanted 
these  stanzas  as  they  walked  through  "  valleys 
of  death-shade."  Blessings  and  Honor  and 
praises  to  Him  who  giveth  us  such  songs  in 
the  night!  ^ 

Such  was  the  history  of  Cowper's  unrivalled 
hymn  of  providence.  We  close  this  biography 
of  an  old  and  familiar  hymn,  by  presenting  a 
new  and  exquisite  evening  hymn^  which  most 
of  our  readers  never  saw  before.     It  is  to 

Christ  the  Healer. 

At  even,  ere  the  sun  was  set, 
The  sick,  O  Lord,  around  Thee  lay ; 

Oh  in  what  divers  pains  they  met, 
Oh  in  what  joy  they  went  away ! 

Once  more,  'tis  eventide,  and  we. 
Oppressed  with  various  ills,  draw  near| 


THE  GREAT  HYMN  OF  PROVIDENCE    205 

Wtat  if  Thy  form  we  cannot  see, 

We  know  and  feel  that  Thou  art  here. 

O  Saviour  Christ !  our  woes  dispel. 

For  some  are  sick,  and  some  are  sad. 
And  some  have  never  loved  Thee  well ; 

And  some  have  lost  the  love  they  had. 

And  some  have  found  the  world  is  vain. 
Yet  from  the  world  they  break  not  free , 

And  some  have  friends,  who  give  them  pain 
Yet  have  not  sought  a  Friend  in  Thee. 

And  none,  O  Lord  !  have  perfect  rest. 

For  none  are  wholly  free  from  sin ; 
And  they  who  fain  would  serve  Thee  best 

Are  conscious  most  of  wrong  within. 

O  Saviour  Christ !  Thou  too  art  man. 
Thou  hast  been  troubled,  tempted,  tried. 

Thy  kind  but  searching  glance  can  scan 
The  very  wounds  that  shame  would  hide. 

Thy  touch  has  still  its  ancient  power. 

No  word  from  Thee  can  fruitless  fall ; 
Here  in  this  solemn  evening  hour,- 

And  in  Thy  mercy,  heal  us  all. 


CHRIST   IN    THE   NIGHT-STORM. 


nPHE  third  watch  of  the  night  had  nearly 
passed.  For  many  weary  hours  the  dis- 
ciples have  been  toiling  at  the  oars  through 
the  tempest.  But  all  the  strength  of  the  fish- 
ermen's brawny  arms  can  scarcely  push  for- 
ward the  little  boat  against  the  angry  waves 
which  smite  the  bow  like  a  sledge.  Peter  and 
John  —  who  were  brought  up  on  this  lake  of 
Galilee  —  had  never  seen  a  rougher  night. 

There  is  no  compass  on  board,  and  no  light 
house  on  the  beach.  Through  the  thick  darl*  • 
ness  the  little  bark  is  invisible  to  human  eye. 
If  Peter's  anxious  household  had  looked  out 
from  their  door  in  Capernaum  on  that  awful 
night,  they  could  not  have  seen  a  boat's-length 
from  the  shore ;  or,  if  they  had  set  the  olive- 
lamp  in  the  window,  it  might  not  have  been 


CHRIST    IN    THE   NIGHT-STORM.  207 

discovered  by  the  toiling  rowers  in  the  smack. 
It  is  a  fearful  night  to  be  out  in ;  but  there  is 
One  Eye  that  beholds  them  from  the  hills  of 
Gadara.     Jesus  watches  them  ! 

Many  of  my  readers  may  be,  just  now,  in  a 
fearful  night-storm  of  trouble.  One  is  in  the 
darkness  of  a  mysterious  providence.  An- 
other is  under  a  tempest  of  commercial  dis- 
aster. He  has  lost  the  "rigging"  of  his 
prosperity ;  his  canvas  is  torn  to  shreds,  and 
his  pride  has  come  down  as  a  top-sail  comes 
down  in  a  hurricane.  Another  one  is  toiling 
with  the  oars  against  a  head-sea  of  poverty. 
The  guiding  rudder  of  a  dear  and  trusted 
friend  has  been  swept  away  by  death.  Still 
another  one  is  in  a  midnight  of  spiritual  de- 
spondency, and  the  promise-stars  seem  to  be  all 
shut   out  under  gloomy   clouds.      My   friend 

A is  making  a   hard   voyage,  with   her 

brood  of  fatherless  children  to  provide  for. 
Friend  B has  a  poor  intemperate  hus- 
band on  board  with  her ;  and  Brother  C 's 

little  bark  hardly  rises  out  of  one  wave  of  dis- 
aster before  another  sweeps  over  it.    There  are 


208  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

whole  boat-loads  of  disciples  who  are  "  toiling 
at  rowing"  over  a  dark  sea  of  trouble.  But 
Jesus  watches  them  !  His  eye  of  love  discerns 
every  single  child  of  his  adoption  over  all  the 
wide  sea  of  human  experience. 

The  hour  of  the  Christian's  extremity  is  the 
hour  of  Christ's  opportunity.  At  the  right 
moment  Christ  makes  his  appearance  to  the 
tempest-tost  disciples  on  Genesareth.  For 
we  are  told  that  "  in  the  fourth  watch  of  the 
night  Jesus  came  to  them,  walking  on  the 
sea ! "  We  do  not  wonder  that  the  sublime 
and  sudden  miracle  astounded  them.  We  do 
not  wonder  that,  as  the  ghost-like  form  draws 
nearer  and  nearer  through  the  darkness,  the 
awe-struck  mariners  throw  down  the  oars,  and 
cry  out,  "  See !  see !  it  is  a  spmt !  it  is  a 
spirit ! "  But  straightway  Jesus  speaks  unto 
them,  saying,  "  Be  of  good  cheer ;  it  is  I;  be 
not  afraid."  In  an  instant  their  fears  vanish. 
Jesus  comes  near  to  them.  He  steps  into  the 
boat,  and  "  the  wind  ceased"  The  overjoyed 
disciples  fall  at  his  feet,  and  gratefully  exclaim, 
"  Truly,  truly,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God ! " 


CHRIST    IN    THE    NIGHT-STORM.  209 

Now  good  friends,  who  are  breasting  a 
midnight  sea  of  trouble,  open  the  eye  of  faith, 
and  see  that  form  on  the  waves !  It  is  not  an 
apparition ;  it  is  not  a  fiction  of  priestly  fan- 
cies, as  the  scoffing  sceptic  has  often  insin- 
uated. It  is  Jesus  himself!  It  is  one  who 
was  himself  a  "man  of  sorrows."  It  is  one 
who  has  been  tried  on  all  points  as  we  are, 
and  yet  without  sin.  It  is  the  Divine  Sufferer 
who  says,  "  It  is  I ;  be  of  good  cheer."  Christ 
comes  to  you  as  a  sympathizing  Saviour.  He 
comes  as  a  cheering,  consoling  Saviour.  His 
sweet  assurance  is,  "Lo!  I  am  with  you. 
Fear  not;  I  have  redeemed  thee.  I  have 
called  thee  by  my  name.  Thou  art  mine. 
When  thou  passest  through  the  waters,  I  will 
be  with  thee;  and  they  shall  not  overflow 
thee."  Behold  that  Saviour!  Eeceive  him 
into  the  ship.  No  vessel  can  sink  or  founder 
with  Jesus  on  board.  No  struggling  soul,  no 
struggling  church,  no  struggling  work  of  re- 
form, ever  went  down  when  the  Son  of  God 
had  set  his  divine  foot  within  it.  Let  the 
storms  rage,  if  God  sends  them.     Christ  can 


210  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

pilot  you  through.  Let  the  midnight  hours  of 
darkness  come,  if  Jesus  only  comes  through 
them  with  the  hailing  signal,  It  is  I !  There 
may  be  a  night  coming  soon  on  some  of  you, 
when  heart  and  flesh  shall  fail  you,  and  the 
only  shore  ahead  is  the  shore  of  eternity.  If 
Jesus  is  only  in  the  bark,  be  not  afraid.  Like 
glorious  John  Wesley,  you  will  be  able  to  cry 
aloud  in  the  dying  hour,  ''  Best  of  all,  Christ 
is  with  me !  best  of  all,  Christ  is  with  me !  " 

II.  I  wish  to  bring  home  the  teachings  of 
this  inspiring  scene  on  Galilee  to  those  who 
are  in  a  mid-sea  of  convictions  of  sin  and 
troublings  of  conscience.  The  storm  of  divine 
threatenings  against  sin  is  breaking  upon  you. 
You  acknowledge  that  you  are  guilty,  and 
you  hear  the  rumbling  thunder  of  that  divine 
declaration,  "  The  soul  that  sinneth  shall  die." 
Alarming  passages  from  God's  Word  foam  up 
around  your  distressed  and  anxious  soul.  You 
cannot  quell  this  storm,  or  escape  out  of  it. 
Toiling  at  the  oars  of  self-righteousness  has 
not  sent  you  a  furlong  nearer  to  the  "  desired 
haven."     You  have  found  by  sore  experience 


CHRIST    IN    THE    NIGHT-STORM.  211 

that  sin  gives  no  rest,  and  that  your  oars  are 
no  match  against  God's  just  and  broken  Law. 

Friend,  give  me  your  ear !  Listen !  There 
is  a  voice  that  comes  sounding  through  the 
storm.  Hearken  to  it !  It  is  a  voice  of  infi- 
nite love.  ''It  is  If'  What  voice  is  that? 
It  is  the  same  voice  that  spoke  Galilee  into  a 
calm ;  that  said  to  Jairus's  dead  daughter. 
Maiden^  arise  !  that  awoke  Lazarus  from  the 
rocky  sepulchre  of  Bethany ;  the  same  voice 
that  sweetly  said  to  a  praying  penitent,  "  Thy 
sins  be  forgiven  thee."  That  omnipotent 
voice  says  to  you,  "  Be  of  good  cheer ;  it  is 
I !  "  It  is  I,  wh6  am  one  with  the  Father. 
It  is  I,  who  so  loved  you  that  I  gave  myself 
for  you.  It  is  I,  who  came  into  the  world  to 
seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  My  blood  cleanse th 
from  all  sin.  I  am  able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most. Whosoever  believeth  in  me  shall  not 
perish,  but  shall  have  everlasting  life. 

Troubled  sinner,  let  me  assure  you  of  this 
one  thing  !  If  you  will  only  admit  this  wait- 
ing, willing,  loving  Jesus  into  your  tempest- 
tost  soul,  the  "  wind  will  cease."     All  will  be 


212  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

well.  Christ  can  allay  the  storm.  Eeceive 
him.  Christ  can  take  away  your  guilt.  Re- 
ceive him.  Christ  can  forgive  you.  Receive 
him.  Open  your  whole  soul  to  him  in  peni- 
tent, humble  faith;  welcome  him  with  grateful 
trust ;  do  all  he  asks  ;  surrender  the  helm  to 
him ;  and  you  can  then  feel  as  the  rescued 
disciples  did  when  they  knelt  down  in  the 
drenched  bottom  of  their  little  boat,  and  cried 
out,  "  Truly  thou  art  the  Son  of  God  ! " 

An  intelligent  merchant  friend  of  mine,  who 
was  once  in  a  night-storm  of  anxiety  and 
haunted  by  the  terrors  of  a  guilty  conscience, 
writes  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  have  a  right  to  speak  about  faith  in 
Christ.  Well,  I  have  tried  him  these  thirty 
years ;  and  I  assure  you  that,  though  I  once 
felt  as  you  feel,  and  feared  as  you  fear,  my 
doubts  and  fears  were  given  to  the  winds  from 
the  hour  I  gave  my  confidence  to  Christ.  I 
heard  his  gentle  entreaty,  '  Ho,  every  one 
that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters ; '  and  I 
came.  I  heard  his  invitation,  '  Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 


CHRIST    IN    THE    NIGHT-STORM.  213 

I  will  give  you  rest/  I  came,  and  he  gave 
me  rest  and  peace,  and  joys  innumerable  and 
immeasurable,  in  comparison  with  which  all 
that  I  had  ever  known  before  was  but  the 
bubble  which  bursts  when  you  seek  to  grasp 
it.  All  this  he  will  do  for  you.  He  longs 
to  do  it ;  but  first  he  must  have  your  submis- 
sion and  trust :  this  is  the  unalterable  condi- 
tion." 

All  that  this  merchant  did  was  to  recognize 
Christ  and  receive  Christ.  As  soon  as  Jesus 
came  into  his  soul,  the  wind  ceased.  The 
clouds  broke  away.  And  now  he  is  going 
joyfully  on  his  life-voyage  with  Jesus  in  the 
vessel.     So  may  you,  if  you  will  cry,  — 

**  Jesus  !  Lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  billows  near  me  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high : 
Hide  me,  oh  !  my  Saviour,  hide 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past, 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide. 

Oh !  receive  my  soul  at  last ! " 


THE  JEWELS  IN  THE   CUP. 


nr^HEEE  was  a  fine  touch  of  poetry  as  well 
■^  as  of  Christian  philosophy  in  the  cheer- 
ful words  of  a  young  servant  of  Christ  who 
was  near  his  last  hour.  "  When  I  have  the 
most  pain  in  my  body,"  said  he,  "  I  have  the 
most  peace  in  my  soul.  I  do  not  doubt  but 
that  there  is  love  in  the  bottom  of  the  cup, 
though  it  is  terribly  bitter  in  the  mouth." 
It  was  at  the  'bottom  of  the  cup  that  God 
had  placed  the  precious  blessing ;  and  it  was 
needful  that  he  drink  the  whole  bitter  draught 
in  order  to  reach  it. 

"The  cup  which  my  Father  hath  given  me, 
shall  I  not  drink  it  %  "  This  was  the  submis- 
sive utterance  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows  in  Geth- 
semane.  Thousands  of  his  followers  have 
faltered   out   the   same  words   through    their 


THE    JEWELS    IN    THE    CUP.  215 

tears,  when  a  heart-breaking  trial  was  trying 
their  faith  to  the  utmost.  But  the  "  sweet 
breath  of  Jesus  has  been  on  the  cup,"  and 
made  it  more  palatable.  And  the  lips  that 
tasted  the  draught  of  sorrow  have  uttered 
such  prayers  as  they  had  not  made,  and 
could  not  make  in  seasons  of  prosperity. 

The  richest  jewels  of  grace  often  lie  at 
the  bottom  of  sorrow's  cup.  Jesus  could 
not  push  from  Him  the  bitter  agony  of 
Calvary:  redemption  was  at  the  bottom  of 
that  cup.  He  could  not  save  Himself  and 
yet  save  a  guilty  world  of  sinners.  Either 
He  must  drink  the  cup  of  suffering,  or  we 
must  drink  "  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God." 

Looking  down  into  the  draught  of  sorrow 
which  God  mingles  often  for  His  children, 
what  precious  jewels  glisten  in  the  depths  ! 
Promises  are  there,  sparkling  like  pearls. 
"  As  thy  day  so  shall  thy  strength  be." 
*'  Whom  I  love,  I  chasten."  "  My  grace 
is  sufB.cient  for  thee."-  What  afflicted  child 
of  God  would  fling  from  him  a  cup  which 
contains  such  priceless  gifts  as  these  ? 


216  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Graces  sparkle  too  in  the  goblet  of  grief 
which  Divine  love  mingles  for  those  who 
are  to  become  more  "  perfect  through  suf- 
fering." How  lustrous  shines  the  grace  of 
Patience !  I  used  to  go  occasionally,  and 
read  the  Bible  to  an  invalid  who  had  been 
tortured  for  forty  years  with  excruciating 
pains ;  and  her  sweet  words  of  submission 
were  the  commentary,  I  used  to  go  home 
ashamed  of  my  own  impatience  under  paltry 
vexations.  She  never  asked  God  to  take 
her  cup  of  suffermg  from  her :  in  it  were 
her  jewels,  —  patience,  meekness,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

Experience  of  the  love  of  Jesus  is  an- 
other of  the  pearls  dropped  into  the  draught 
which  is  mingled  for  his  chosen  ones.  Christ 
has  his  choice  ones.  Dr.  Arnot  says  that  the 
true  meaning  of  the  text  "  many  are  called, 
but  few  are  chosen,"  is  this,  — "  many  are 
called  to  be  Christians,  but  only  a  few 
are  choice''  Only  a  portion  of  all  the  flock 
are  "  called  and  choice  and  faithful."  This  is 
certainly  a  truth,  —  whether  it  be  the  true 
meaning  of  the  Bible  text  or  not. 


THE    JEWELS    IN    THE    CUP.  217 

These  choice  Christians  are  often  chosen 
for  affliction,  and  become  more  choice,  and 
excellent  through  the  regimen  of  severe 
trial.  There  is  an  experience  of  the  love 
of  Jesus  which  they  gain  in  their  hours  of 
bereavement,  or  poverty,  or  hardships,  which 
they  never  could  have  acquired  in  any  other 
way.  The  "  love  in  the  bottom  of  the  cup  " 
was  only  to  be  reached  by  drinking  the  sor- 
rows which  held  the  jewel.  The  school  of 
suffering  graduates  rare  scholars.  To  the 
disciples  in  that  school  it  is  often  given  to 
"  know  the  love  of  Jesus  which  passeth 
knowledge."  Suffering  Christian !  be  not  in 
haste  to  quit  thy  Master's  school;  thou  art 
fitting  for  the  High  School  of  Heaven.  Push 
not  away  peevishly  thy  cup  of  sorrow  ;  for  the 
sparkling  diamond  of  Christ's  love  for  thee  is 
in  the  draught  he  gives  thee  to  drink. 


10 


WHERE  IS   YOUR  PLACE? 


A     PLACE  for  every  man,  and  every  man 
•^  ^     in  his  place !     This  motto  is  as  good 
for  Christ's  Church  as  it  was  for   the    army 
during  the  war.     But   what   is   every  Chris 
tian's  right  place  ? 

We  answer  that  it  is  the  one  for  which  God 
made  him,  and  for  which  the  Holy  Spirit  con- 
verted him.  To  mistake  it  is  a  sad  blunder ; 
to  desert  it  is  a  disgrace.  The  Bible  acknowl- 
edges that  God  made  His  servants  for  some 
especial  "  niche  ;  "  for  it  says,  "  Having  then 
gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace  that  is 
given  us,  let  us  wait  on  our  ministering  ;  or 
he  that  teacheth  on  teaching ;  or  he  that 
exhorteth  on  exhortation  ;  he  that  giveth,  let 
him  do  it  with  simplicity  ;  he  that  ruleth,  with 
diligence ;  he  that  showeth  mercy,  with  cheer- 


WHERE    IS    YOUR    PLACE  1  219 

fulness."  The  principle  here  laid  down  is 
that  every  man  or  woman  who  loves  Jesus 
should  select  and  should  fill  that  post  of  duty 
for  which  his  or  her  gifts  have  fitted  them. 
But  "  let  no  man  neglect  the  gift  that  is  in 
him." 

Some  men  —  like  Spurgeon  and  Newman 
Hall  and  Bishop  Simpson  —  were  created  for 
the  pulpit.  God  gave  them  clear  heads,  warm 
hearts,  strong  lungs  and  eloquent  tongues,  and 
a  hunger  for  saving  souls.  To  possess  such 
gifts  is  a  clear  call  to  the  ministry.  And  thou- 
sands of  humbler  preachers  who  cannot  attract 
Spurgeon's  crowds  are  yet  as  clearly  called  to 
the  ministry  of  the. Word  as  the  London  Boan- 
erges was  himself  But  the  vainglorious 
creature  who  cannot  attract  an  audience  ex- 
cept by  sensational  "  clap-trap,"  or  by  Bar- 
num-ish  advertisements,  was  certainly  never 
called  of  God  to  the  sacred  ministry.  He  may 
draw  auditors ;  but  he  commonly  draws  t:hem 
away  from  places  where  they  would  be  more 
profited. 

Suppose  a  man  or  woman  feel  —  after  deep 


220  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

prayer  and  self-examination  —  that  God  has 
not  called  them  to  the  pulpit ;  what  then  1 
Must  they  be  silent?  Are  all  the  speaking 
gifts  of  the  pious  lawyer,  or  doctor,  or  mer 
chant,  or  mechanic  to  run  to  waste  1  No, 
verily !  Let  such  proclaim  the  glad  tidings 
of  Christ,  and  the  story  of  their  own  Christian 
experience  in  the  prayer-meeting,  or  the  mis- 
sion-school, or  the  cottage  conference  meeting, 
or  wherever  they  can  find  souls  to  plead  with. 
How  successfully  this  lay-labor  may  be  made, 
let  such  men  as  Harlan  Page  and  Richard 
Weaver  and  George  H.  Stuart  and  D.  L. 
Moody  and  John  Wanamaker  bear  witness. 
Let  the  powerful  lay-preaching  heard  every 
day  in  "  Fulton  Street "  answer.  Some  of 
the  best  discourses  I  have  ever  heard  were 
but  five  or  ten  minutes  long,  and  were  deliv- 
ered in  my  own  prayer-meeting.  Christian 
lawyers  ought  to  do  more  of  this  tongue- 
work.  As  a  class,  they  are  too  silent  in  our 
meetings  and  Sunday  schools.  God  is  open- 
ing a  wide  field  for  laymen  to  act  on  "  picket- 
duty  "  and  as  skirmishers  and  sharp-shooters 
in  the  spiritual  warfare. 


WHERE    IS    YOUR    PLACE  1  221 

What  our  churches  most  need  (next  to  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost)  is  the  develop- 
ment of  all  the  members.  So  much  is  thrown 
upon  the  ministry  that  some  of  us  can  hardly 
catch  a  spare  hour  for  our  own  family  and 
fireside.  The  Spurgeons  and  John  Halls  and 
Guthries  are  being  ground  to  death  by  over- 
work. A  city  pastor  is  often  expected  to  pre- 
pare three  sermons  or  lectures,  to  visit  the 
flock,  to  see  the  sick,  to  bury  the  dead,  and  to 
act  on  a  dozen  committees  and  to  make  two 
or  three  speeches  all  in  a  single  week!  The 
church  becomes  Dr.  Tyng's  church,  or  Mr. 
Beecher's  church,  or  Dr.  Crosby's  church,  or 
some  other  man's  church,  —  instead  of  being 
the  people's  church,  with  some  gifted  man  as 
its  overseer  and  pastor. 

Now  I  love  to  work  exceedingly;  but  not 
one  whit  more  than  I  love  to  see  my  congre- 
gation work.  And  no  man  in  my  flock  has 
any  more  right  to  turn  his  spiritual  work  over 
upon  me  than  he  has  a  right  to  send  me  to 
market  for  him,  or  to  cook  or  eat  his  dinner 
for  him.     He  needs  his  work  as  much  as  I 


222  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

need  mine.  In  revival-times  the  whole  church 
is  alive  and  busy.  But  where  and  when  did 
the  Master  ever  give  a  "  furlough  "  to  three- 
fourths  of  our  people  to  quit  the  ranks  just  as 
soon  as  a  revival-campaign  is  over  1 

A  Christian  who  is  keen  for  work  will  soon 
find  his  place.  If  he  is  "  apt  to  teach,"  he  or 
she  will  soon  gather  the  Sabbath-school  class, 
and  will  be  there,  Bible  in  hand,  every  Sun- 
day, even  though  the  rain  is  spattering  on  the 
pavements.  Commend  me  to  the  teacher  who 
wears  a  "  water-proof,"  and  always  consults 
conscience  sooner  than  the  barometer ! 

Whoever  has  the  gift  of  song  should  join 
God's  great  choir,  and  sing  at  every  religious 
service.  The  owner  of  a  good  voice  must  give 
account  for  that  voice  at  the  day  of  judgment. 
We  never  shall  have  genuine  congregational 
singing  until  every  redeemed  child  of  Christ 
sings  from  duty,  and  consecrates  the  gift  of 
music  to  the  Lord.  Those  who  expect  to  sing 
in  heaven  had  better  practise  here. 

Tract-distribution  is  going  too  much  out  of 
fashion.     It  is  a  blessed  and  heaven-honored 


WHERE    IS    YOUR    PLACE?  223 

agency  for  doing  good.  Every  one  who  has 
some  spare  time  and  a  tongue  and  a  little 
pious  tact  can  go  out  with  a  bundle  of  tracts 
to  the  abodes  of  ignorance  and  irreligion. 

Those  who  cannot  exhort  or  teach  in  a 
Sunday  school,  or  distribute  tracts,  can  at  least 
live  for  Jesus  at  home,  and  come  and  join  in 
the  prayers  of  the  prayer-meeting.  The 
oldest,  the  timidest,  the  least  gifted  can  do 
surely  as  much  as  this.  Every  one,  too,  can 
give  something  when  the  contribution-box  is 
passed.  The  gift  of  a  "  cup  of  cold  water '' 
in  Christ's  name  has  its  reward.  Every  one 
whom  Jesus  saves  has  a  place  assigned  to 
them  in  the  vineyard.  An  idle  Christian  is 
a  monster ! 

Friend !  have  you  found  your  place  ? 


CHRIST  A  SERVANT. 


'T^HEEE  is  one  character  in  whicli  Chris- 
•^  tians  too  seldom  think  of  their  Divine 
Redeemer.  It  is  that  of  a  disinterested  ser- 
vant, ever  serving  our  highest  interests.  We 
caU  ourselves  Christ's  servants.  Do  we  con- 
stantly think  of  him  as  ours  ? 

At  the  last  supper,  we  read  that  Jesus  rose 
from  the  table  and  laid  aside  his  robe.  He 
takes  a  towel,  and  girds  himself  after  the  man- 
ner of  an  attendant  in  a  guest  chamber.  Pour- 
ing water  into  a  basin,  he  washes  the  disciples' 
feet,  and  wipes  them  with  the  towel  where- 
with he  is  girded.  After  the  surprising  act  of 
self-humiliation  is  over,  he  says  to  them, 
"  Know  ye  what  I  have  done  to  you  1  Ye  call 
me  Master  and  Lord ;  ye  say  well,  for  so  I  am. 
If  I  then,  your  Lord  and  Master,  have  washed 


CHRIST    A    SERVANT.  22o 

your  feet,  ye  ought  also  to  wash  one  another's 
feet.  For  I  have  given  you  an  example  that 
ye  should  do  as  I  have  done  unto  you." 

Then  he  tells  his  disciples  for  what  paltry 
distinctions  the  Gentiles  and  the  worldlings 
crave.  But  they  were  to  aim  at  a  nobler,  sub 
limer  supremacy,  —  the  supremacy  of  disinter- 
ested love,  and  devotion  to  the  wants  of  others. 
"  Let  him  who  would  be  chiefest  among  you 
become  servant  of  all"  The  feet  of  his  fol- 
lowers were  scarcely  dry  from  the  washing  he 
had  given  them,  as  he  says,  "  I  am  among  you 
as  he  that  serveth^ 

Eun  your  eye,  my  brother,  over  the  whole 
earthly  career  of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  you 
will  find  in  it  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the 
truth  that  the  loftiest  post  of  honor  is  the  low- 
liest post  of  service.  Every  word,  every  act,  is 
inspired  by  disinterested  love.  He  conde- 
scends to  teach  the  most  ignorant,  for  they 
have  the  deepest  need  of  light.  He  conde- 
scends to  feed  the  hungry  poor  out  of  his 
mhaculous  basket.  He  condescends  to  sit  at 
meat  with  despised   publicans,   to  heal   way- 

10* 


226  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

side  beggars  and  outcast  lepers,  the  children 
of  poor,  heart-broken  mothers,  and  the  ser- 
vants in  noblemen's  kitchens.  More  than  one 
fallen  woman,  whom  most  parents  would  have 
thrust  out  of  doors,  he  allows  to  come  into  the 
sunshine  of  his  presence,  and  does  not  let  them 
go  until  they  are  penitent  and  pardoned.  And 
so  all  through  that  three  years'  pilgrimage  of 
love,  —  instructing  the  benighted,  comforting 
the  afflicted,  pardoning  the  guilty,  healing  the 
sick,  stooping  to  wash  disciples'  feet  and  to 
cleanse  their  still  more  polluted  hearts, —  Jesus 
is  everywhere  the  "  servant  of  all."  The  years 
of  penitent,  self-denying  service  culminate  in 
the  grandest,  most  stupendous,  and  sublime 
service  of  all,  —  the  service  of  suffering  on  the 
cross  of  Calvary  !  Oh !  self-indulgent  Chris- 
tian, who  art  unwilling  to  lift  a  finger  to  relieve 
a  fellow-being  or  undo  his  burthen,  look  on  the 
wondrous  spectacle  of  an  incarnate  God  stoop- 
ing to  the  lowliest  offices  of  love,  —  bearing 
poverty,  and  ignominy,  and  toil,  —  bearing  the 
curse  of  the  broken  law,  —  bearing  your  sins 
in   his  bleeding    body   on   the   cross, — look 


CHRIST    A    SERVANT.  227 

at  this,  and  hide  your  selfish  head  in 
shame ! 

Nor  did  the  service  of  our  Divine  servant 
end  with  the  cross  and  the  new  tomb  in  the 
garden.  When  he  ascended  to  heaven,  he 
only  ascended  to  new  departments  of  service 
for  us.  He  ever  liveth  there  to  make  inter- 
cession for  his  people.  He  is  our  ''friend  at 
court."  He  is  our  advocate  to  plead  our  suit. 
He  hears  our  complaints,  and  gives  a  ready 
ear  to  the  faintest  prayer  which  the  feeblest 
faith  breathes  forth  in  its  closet. 

Does  he  not  gird  himself  as  with  a  towel,  to 
wash  away  our  impurities'?  Not  once  only, 
but  constantly.  One  cleansing  of  a  soul  at  the 
time  of  regeneration  will  no  more  keep  a 
Christian  for  ever  pure  than  a  single  ablution 
of  his  face  or  form  would  make  his  body  clean 
for  a  life-time.  The  world  soils  our  souls 
every  day.  Each  unholy  thought,  each  angry 
word,  each  act  of  deceit,  each  covetous  touch 
of  gold,  each  insincere,  unbelieving  prayer, 
each  cowardly  desertion  of  duty,  leaves  an 
ugly  spot.    "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart "  is  an 


22b  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

every  hour's  prayer  for  a  Christian's  whole  life. 
And  he  who  girded  a  towel  about  him,  and 
washed  his  disciples'  feet  from  the  dust  of 
Jerusalem's  streets,  is  ever  beside  us,  ready  to 
wash  away  the  moral  defilement  which  our 
daily  walk  on  the  world's  highways  brings 
upon  our  souls. 

How  many  other  services,  too,  our  Saviour  is 
rendering  us !  When  starved  on  husks,  he 
gives  us  the  bread  of  life.  When  faint  in 
spirit,  he  brings  us  into  his  orchard,  whose 
apples  of  delight  cause  our  lips  to  sing. 
Many  an  obscure  saint  in  a  smoky  hovel  has 
yet  dwelt  in  the  King's  banqueting-house. 
The  holy  Rutherford,  when  in  prison  for 
Christ's  sake,  testifies  that  his  prison-cell  was 
"  the  King's  wine-cellar"  to  his  thirsty  soul,  in 
which  every  taste  of  the  divine  love  only  made 
him  more  hungry  for  the  "  supper-time "  in 
heaven.  He  says,  "  I  get  sweet  tastings  of 
my  Lord's  comforts ;  but  the  cause  of  that  is 
not  that  our  steward,  Christ  Jesus,  is  niggard 
and  narrow-hearted,  but  because  our  stomachs 
are  so  weak,  and  our  souls  are  narrow  ;  but 


CHRIST   A    SERVANT.  229 

the  great  feast  is  coming,  when  our  hearts 
shall  be  enlarged  to  take  in  the  fulness  of  the 
marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb." 

Time  would  fail  us  to  tell  in  how  many  ways 
the  loving  Jesus  serves  his  people,  —  as  their 
physician,  their  protector,  and  their  guide 
through  the  valley  of  the  death-shade.  And 
one  of  the  great  practical  teachings  of  Christ's 
sublime,  self-denying  service  for  us  is  that  the 
lowliest  post  of  service  is  the  loftiest  post  of 
honor.  If  Jesus  was  a  servant,  who  shall  be 
ashamed  to  serve? 

Why  is  it  that  so  many  professed  Christians 
"  feel  above "  undertaking  humble  work  for 
God  and  humanity?  We  have  heard  of  a 
minister  of  Christ  complaining  thaj:  his  station 
was  "  beneath  his  talents  "  !  As  if  the  soul  of 
a  beggar  were  beneath  the  genius  of  a  Paul ! 
Some  are  unwilling  to  enter  a  mission-school, 
or  to  distribute  tracts  through  a  poor  district, 
strangely  forgetting  that  their  Divine  Master 
was  himself  a  missionary. 

Have  such  never  learned  that  the  towel 
wherewith  Jesus  wiped  his  disciples'  feet  out- 


230  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

shone  the  purple  that  wrapped  Caesar's  limbs  1 
Do  they  not  know  that  the  post  of  honor  is  the 
post  of  service?  "My  seat  in  the  Sunday 
school  is  higher  than  my  seat  in  the  Senate," 
said  an  eminent  Christian  statesman.  When 
we  take  the  lowliest  place  of  sacred  service, 
we  find  ourselves  in  the  best  society,  —  in  the 
society  of  mothers  serving  their  children,  of 
patriots  serving  their  country,  of  pastors  serv- 
ing their  flocks,  and  of  One  who  is  ever  the 
gracious  servant  of  his  people.  Heaven  is  but 
a  higher  sphere  of  service.  For  in  that  realm 
of  unwearying  activity  and  blissful  worship  we 
read  that  "  they  serve  God  day  and  night  in 
his  temple ;  his  name  is  written  on  their  fore- 
heads ; "  and  "  they  follow  the  Lamb  whereso- 
ever he  goeth,  and  he  leadeth  them  to  living 
fountains  of  water." 


THE  DAY   OF   SMALL  THINGS. 


THE  most  successful  toilers  are  those  who 
know  best  how  to  serve  God  in  "  small 
things."  The  Almighty  never  "  despises  the 
day  of  small  things,"  or  else  he  would  not  put 
his  mighty  oaks  into  acorns,  or  his  golden 
grain-crops  into  little  seed-bags. 

1.  Nearly  all  the  greatest  and  best  things 
had  their  feeble  beginnings.  The  Mississippi 
begins  as  a  rivulet;  the  splendid  suspension 
bridge  at  Niagara  first  went  over  the  deep 
chasm  as  a  mere  kite-string.  And  the  noblest, 
holiest  Christian  lives  had  their  origin  in  some 
word  faithfully  spoken,  or  in  the  reading  of  a 
tract,  or  the  offering  of  a  broken  and  brief 
prayer,  or  in  a  solemn  resolution  to  quit  favor- 
ite sins  and  yield  to  Jesus.  One  sentence 
seems  to  have  brought  Peter  and  John  to  fol- 


232  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

low  Christ.  One  sentence  converted  the  jailer 
of  Philippi.  Now  if  every  Christian  life 
sprouted  out  of  the  act  of  a  single  hour,  and 
was  probably  the  result  of  some  humble 
agency,  then  it  is  a  sin  and  a  folly  to  "  despise 
the  day  of  small  things." 

Cases  to  illustrate  this  truth  thicken  in  our 
memory.  A  godly  woman  spoke  kindly  to  her 
maid-servant  about  her  soul :  the  gardener 
overheard  the  conversation  through  a  hedge, 
and  was  himself  convicted  of  his  sins.  Stray 
arrows  often  hit  the  mark. 

The  late  Dr.  William  Wisner  once  stopped 
on  a  hot  summer  day  at  a  Berkshire  farm- 
house for  a  glass  of  water.  He  talked  faith- 
fully with  the  young  lady  who  gave  him  the 
refreshing  draught,  and  directed  her  to  the 
"  living  water."  Long  years  afterwards,  a 
middle-aged  woman  introduced  herself  to  Dr. 

W on  a  steamboat,  and  thanked  him  for 

the  plain,  kind  word  that  brought  her  to  the 
Saviour. 

Harlan  Page,  coming  early  to  a  meeting, 
found  a  stranger  sitting  there,  and   politely 


THE    DAT    OF    SMALL   THINGS.  233 

spoke  to  him.  The  conversation  went  on 
until  the  man  —  who  said  that  "  Christians 
had  always  kept  him  at  arm's  length  "  before 
—  was  melted  into  penitence. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  year  1867,  I  met  a 
man  of  fifty  in  the  streets,  and  said  to  him, 
*'Had  not  you  and  I  better  begin  the  new 
year  with  a  new  life  I  "  That  simple  remark 
set  him  to  thinking,  and  resulted  in  his  con- 
version. 

The  lesson  of  all  these  cases,  and  of  innu- 
merable others  like  them,  is  that  the  most 
effectual  way  to  save  sinners  is  to  use  the  day 
of  small  things,  and  seize  our  opportunities. 
Nearly  all  revivals  start  with  a  single  man  or 
woman.  One  live  coal  can  kindle  a  great 
flame. 

2.  There  is  another  view  of  this  matter. 
As  the  usefulness  of  a  Christian  grows  out  of 
little  deeds  well  done,  so  the  influence  of  many 
Christians  is  terribly  poisoned  by  little  sins. 
Alas !  how  great  sinners  we  may  be  in  small 
things!  Little  irritations  of  look  and  man- 
ner ;  httle  meannesses  in  our  daily  dealings ; 


234  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

little  fibs  and  insincerities  of  speech ;  little 
jealousies  and  spites ;  little  neglects  of  kind 
acts  we  might  do,  —  all  these  are  the  '•  little 
foxes  "  that  have  spoiled  many  a  goodly  vine. 
Pile  up  enough  tiny  snow-flakes  on  a  rail-way 
track,  and  they  will  blockade  the  most  power- 
ful locomotive.  So  I  verily  believe  that  the 
aggregate  sum  of  Christians'  daily  inconsis- 
tencies and  neglects  of  duty  often  block  up  a 
revival,  and  stay  the  progress  of  Christ's  king- 
dom. Jesus  Christ  laid  great  emphasis  on 
"  keeping  the  least  of  his  commandments." 
That  was  an  awfully  mischievous  spark  that 
lighted  Chicago  into  a  blaze ;  but  it  was  once 
only  a  spark ! 

3.  This  brings  me  to  say  to  the  unconverted, 
It  is  a  fatal  mistake  to  think  that  any  wilful 
sin  is  a  trifle.  If  you  are  lost,  my  dear  friend, 
it  is  not  likely  that  one  huge  crime  like  Judas', 
or  Pilate's,  or  Ananias',  will  sink  you  to  perdi- 
tion. It  will  be  the  sum  of  your  daily  sins 
left  unrepented  of,  the  aggregate  of  thou- 
sands of  ofl'ences  against  God's  law  and  God's 
love.     I  pray  you,  do  not  say,  "  Oh,  this  is  not 


THE    DAY    OF    SMALL    THINGS.  235 

much  !  "  No  sin  is  a  trifle.  No  sin  is  harm- 
less. In  Sudbrook  Park,  England,  a  natural- 
ist saw  a  small  worm  boring  into  the  bark  of 
a  stately  sycamore-tree.  "-  If  that  worm  is 
let  alone"  said  he,  "  it  will  kHl  the  tree."  The 
experiment  was  tried.  The  next  year  the 
leaves  turned  yellow,  and  the  year  after  the 
tree  was  a  skeleton.  Now  if  one  sin  is  so 
deadly,  what  must  a  lifetime  of  sin  be "? 

My  last  thought  is  that  life  is  a  series  of 
steps.  Each  step  counts.  Coming  to  Jesus 
is  a  single  step.  It  may  be  the  work  of  a 
moment.  It  may  turn  on  a  small  pivot.  And 
you  will  never  come  to  Christ,  or  never  reach 
heaven,  while  you  continue  to  "  despise  the  day 
of  small  things." 


THE    SUCCESSFUL   PASTOR. 


"  nr^HE  sermon  always  sounds  better  to  me 
-*•  on  Sunday  when  I  have  had  a  shake  of 
my  minister  s  hand  during  the  week."  This 
was  a  very  natural  remark  of  a  very  sensible 
parishioner.  We  always  listen  with  a  more 
open-hearted  readiness  to  every  thing  which 
falls  from  the  lips  of  one  who  has  won  our 
friendship  or  showed  us  a  grateful  attention. 
Even  the  instructions  from  God's  Word,  and 
the  precious  invitations  of  the  gospel,  come 
more  acceptably  from  one  we  love  than  from 
him  who  treats  us  with  indifference  or  neglect. 
After  all,  the  great  power  of  a  good  pastor 
over  his  people  is  heart-20ower.  Intellectual 
brilliancy  may  awaken  the  pride  of  a  congre- 
gation in  their  minister ;  but  it  is  his  affection- 
ate sympathy  and  personal  kindnesses  to  them 


THE    SUCCESSFUL    PASTOR.  23  T 

that   awaken   their  love  for  him  and  keep  it 
burning. 

When  a  pastor  has  gained  a  strong  hold  on 
the  affections  of  his  people,  he  may  preach 
ever  so  pointedly  against  popular  sins,  and  the 
people  will  receive  his  unpalatable  truths  with- 
out flinching,  or  hurling  a  reproach  at  him. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  have  known  fearless 
denouncers  of  wrong-doing  to  be  ousted  from 
their  pulpits,  simply  because  the  radical  thun- 
derers  had  no  grip  on  the  affections  of  their 
flock.  The  sermon  against  rum-drinking  or 
dishonesty  was  a  mere  pretext  for  blackballing 
him :  the  secret  reason  was  that  they  did  not 
love  the  man.  Conscience  sometimes  requires 
a  faithful  ambassador  of  Christ  to  put  a  severe 
strain  on  the  "tether"  that  binds  him  to  his 
pastorate :  at  such  times  it  is  a  happy  thing 
for  him  if  that  tether  is  securely  fastened  to  a 
hundred  family-altars  and  fu'esides.  The  great 
mass  of  the  ministry  are  not  men  of  genius ; 
and,  even  if  they  were,  they  could  not  afford 
to  dispense  with  that  heart-power  which  can 
only  be  acquired  by  personal  kindness  and 
sympathy  with  their  people. 


238  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

We  could  name  a  certain  successful  pastor 
who  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  kept  his 
church  full  and  prosperous :  he  has  sided  with 
most  of  the  moral  reforms  of  the  day,  and 
his  vineyard  has  been  irrigated  with  many  a 
copious  revival-shower.  Yet  he  never  could 
be  accused  of  brilliant  talents  or  profound 
learning.  He  has,  in  their  stead,  a  warm 
heart,  good  sense,  tact,  winning  manners,  and 
fervent  piety.  He  is  not  a  powerful  preach- 
er, but  he  is  a  powerful  pastor.  He  knows 
where  all  his  congregation  live,  and  he  visits 
them.  He  never  comes  as  a  stranger  or  in 
a  ceremonious  manner;  if  the  parlor  is  cold, 
or  locked  up  for  repairs,  he  drops  into  the 
nursery,  takes  a  youngster  on  his  lap,  chats 
with  the  mother,  inquires  about  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  family,  and  probably  offers  a 
fervent  prayer  with  them  before  he  departs. 
That  family  are  pretty  certain  to  be  at  church 
on  the  next  Sunday.  If  a  business  man  in  his 
congregation  has  met  wdth  a  reverse,  he  calls 
in  at  his  counting-room,  gives  him  a  warm 
shake  of  the  hand  and  a  kind  word  of  encour- 


THE    SUCCESSFUL   PASTOR.  239 

agement.  The  unfortunate  merchant /e6?s  the 
warm  pressure  of  that  hand  the  next  time  he 
goes  to  church :  he  is  ready  to  put  into  that 
hand  the  key  to  his  own  heart. 

If  there  is  a  sick  child  in  the  flock,  the  pas- 
tor is  kneeling  beside  its  little  crib  ;  if  there  is 
a  bit  of  crape  hanging  at  the  door-knob,  the 
pastor  is  quite  sure  to  be  found  amid  the  weep- 
ing family  within.  At  every  pastoral  visit  he 
makes  he  weaves  a  new  strand  into  the  cord  of 
love  that  binds  that  household  to  him  and  to 
the  sanctuary.  Such  a  pastor  bases  the  pulpit 
on  the  hearts  of  his  people ;  and  all  the  mis- 
chief-making Guy  Fawhses  in  the  parish  can- 
not put  enough  powder-kegs  of  discontent 
under  that  pulpit  to  "  blow  out "  the  incum- 
bent. 

It  may  be  said  that  all  this  pastoral  visita- 
tion consumes  a  vast  amount  of  time.  So  it 
does  ;  but  it  can  generally  be  made  in  the  after- 
noon, while  the  morning  is  devoted  to  study. 
And  the  minister  is  studying  human  nature  at 
every  visit :  is  not  this  next  in  importance  to  a 
knowledge  of  God's  Word  ?     It  is  idle  for  any 


240  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

pastor  to  plead  that  his  flock  is  too  large  for 
him  to  visit  them.  The  writer  of  this  para- 
graph has  over  three  hundred  pews  in  his 
church,  —  every  one  of  them  rented,  to  the  last 
sitting,  —  and  he  finds  no  difficulty  in  reaching 
every  family,  at  least  once  in  each  year.  The 
very  exercise  of  walking  from  house  to  house 
is  a  life-preserver.  Every  visit  gives  an  observ- 
ant pastor  some  information  that  he  wants,  and 
some  new  materials  for  a  sermon.  It  would  be 
a  great  mercy  to  many  a  minister,  —  and  to  his 
people,  —  if  he  could  be  dragged  out  of  his 
books,  and  be  brought  into  personal  contact 
with  every-day  life. 

There  is  about  one  minister  in  every  genera- 
tion who  is  so  situated  that  he  cannot  possibly 
be  a  visitant  of  his  flock.  jCharles  H.  Spurgeon 
is  such  an  one.  With  a  congregation  of  ^ye 
thousand  souls,  and  a  membership  of  over 
three  thousand,  with  the  charge  of  a  theolog- 
ical school,  the  editorship  of  a  religious  maga- 
zine, and  the  oversight  of  a  dozen  mission 
stations;  he  cannot  be  expected  to  visit  six  or 
seven  hundred  families.     Spurgeon  is  the  hun- 


THE    SUCCESSFUL    PASTOR.  241 

dred-handed  Briareus  of  the  modern  pulpit ; 
but  the  visitation  of  his  immense  flock  he  nec- 
essarily leaves  to  his  board  of  elders.  When 
he  does  encounter  his  parishioners,  he  is  said 
to  be  very  cordial  and  affable. 

Many  arguments  might  be  urged  in  favor  of 
regular  and  systematic  pastoral  visitation  on 
the  part  of  every  Christian  minister.  For 
what  is  the  real  object  and  end  of  a  minister's 
office  1  Is  it  simply  to  preach  sermons  ]  No  I 
It  is  to  Christianize  and  save  iminortal  souls. 
It  is  to  edify  Christ's  Church,  to  purify  society, 
to  fight  sin,  to  lead  souls  to  Jesus.  Preaching 
sermons  is  one  of  the  means  to  this  end.  It 
is,  indeed,  a  chief  and  indispensable  agency. 
But  if  a  pastor  can  prepare  more  practical 
sermons,  and  can  lodge  those  sermons  more 
effectually  in  the  hearts  of  his  auditors,  by 
constant  pastoral  intercourse  with  them,  then 
is  he  morally  bound  to  keep  up  that  inter- 
course. The  mass  of  sinful  men  are  only  to 
be  reached  through  their  affections.  Sympathy 
is  power.     Christ  Jesus  did  not  win  Zaccheus 

the    publican,  by  argument.     He  simply  went 
11 


242  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

to  his  house,  and  won  him  by  a  divine  sym- 
pathy. Methinks,  as  I  close  this  article,  I  hear 
some  good,  plain,  humble  "  fisher  of  souls  " 

whisper  to  me,  "  Brother  C ,  I  thank  you 

for  your  words  of  cheer.  My  Master  never 
trusted  me  with  ten  talents ;  but  he  gave  me 
one  talent  in  my  heart  I  cannot  be  a  Spur- 
geon ;  but  I  can  go  out  and  love  somebody  into 
the  sphere  of  the  gospel.  With  God's  help, 
I  may  become  a  successful  pastob." 


THE    PLAINT    OF    A    MINISTEll'S 
DOOR-BELL. 


T  AM  that  much-used  and  long-suffering 
-*•  article,  a  minister's  door-bell.  As  I  have 
a  very  distinct  voice,  and  often  address  the 
people  within  doors,  let  me  say  a  gentle  word 
or  two  to  the  multitudes  of  "  outsiders."  I 
have  a  few  hints  to  give,  and  a  word  to  the 
wise  ought  to  be  sufficient.  (The  trouble  is 
that  the  wise  are  not  as  numerous  as  the  other- 
wise.) 

My  first  hint  is,  Don't  call  on  my  master  in 
the  morning,  unless  it  be  on  a  matter  of  the 
most  vital  importance,  or  in  regard  to  some- 
body's spiritual  welfare.  The  morning  is  a 
student's  golden  hour.  My  master  is  a  student 
of  God's  Word,  and  whoever  robs  him  of  his 
morning  robs  his  congregation  of  the  bread 
and  the  water  of  life.     If  you  must  come  dur- 


244  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

ing  his  precious  season  of  brain-work,  pray  he 
short;  and,  when  you  are  done,  then  (as  Dr. 
Cox  once  phrased  it)  "  make  rectilineals  "  for 
the  door !  But  how  do  you  know  but  your 
five  minutes'  interruption  has  frightened  away 
a  whole  flock  of  admirable  thoughts  which 
were  just  about  alighting  on  his  page  ?  You 
may  have  well-nigh  spoiled  a  day's  work. 

Just  let  me  tell  you  into  what  scrapes  I  got 
the  good  man  yesterday.  It  was  Tuesday, 
which  is  always  a  minister's  best  day  for 
study.  He  rests  on  Monday,  and  then  lays 
the  keel  of  his  sermon  on  Tuesday  morning  ; 
for  he  don't  believe  in  burning  out  his  brains 
and  heart  over  a  lamp  on  Saturday  night. 
(None  but  fools  or  sluggards  make  sermons 
on  Saturday  nights.)  Well,  yesterday  morn- 
ing I  had  the  St.  Vitus'  dance.  First  came  a 
book-agent.  He  said  he  must  see  the  min- 
ister, because  he  "  had  a  work  to  sell  that  no 
minister's  library  should  be  without."  He 
pushed  his  way  in,  and  pestered  my  master 
for  half  an  hour,  until  the  poor  man  bought 
the  book,  for  the  same  reason  that  the  girl 


THE    PLAINT    OF    A    MINISTER'S    DOOR-BELL.    245 

married  her  importunate  suitor,  —  "just  to  get 
rid  of  him."  After  him  came  a  big  burly 
brother  from  Nebraska,  who  said  he  was 
"  hound  to  raise  the  money  to  pay  oiF  their 
church  debt,  and  two  hundred  dollars  more  to 
top  off  their  preacher's  salary."  I  wanted  to 
hint  to  him  that  he  had  better  call  on  the 
secretary  of  the  Church  Erection  Board  about 
the  one,  and  on  the  treasurer  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  about  the  other.  In  he  went ; 
and  as  the  door  opened,  I  heard  him  shout 
out  in  genuine  Western  style  :  "  Well,  Doctor, 
how  are  ye  ]  I  am  hound  to  call  on  all  the 
ministers  in  town,  and  I  thought  I'd  begin 
with  you."  The  Nebraska  brother  sat  in 
"  executive  session  "  with  my  long-suffering 
lord,  and  then  came  out  with  the  frank  apol- 
ogy, "  I  am  sorry  to  take  so  much  of  your 
time."     So  was  the  minister. 

Now  that  honest  stranger  had  a  perfect 
right  to  raise  the  money  for  his  prairie 
church  ;  but  he  ought  to  have  gone  right  to 
the  officer  of  the  church  societies,  whose  husi- 
ness  it  is  to  hear  and  to  answer  such  appli- 


246  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

cations.  Every  well-regulated  city  churcL 
takes  up  a  large  collection  for  the  treasury 
of  its  church  erection  and  home  missionary 
boards ;  and  to  that  treasury  the  applicant 
should  go,  and  not  badger  the  over-worked 
pastor  to  make  out  a  list  of  his  parishioners 
to  be  called  on  for  extra  donations. 

After  the  exodus  of  the  genial  "  son  of  the 
soil,"  there  came  up  a  slender,  sharp-visaged 
lady,  with  a  pair  of  gold  "  specks  "  over  her 
hungry  eyes,  and  a  "  ridicule "  on  her  arm. 
She  gave  me  a  tweak,  and  then  she  bolted  in. 
It  is  hard  work  to  refuse  a  woman ;  and  has 
been  so  ever  since  Adam  said  yes  to  Eve  when 
he  ought  to  have  said  no.  So  the  minister 
blandly  said,  "  What  can  I  do  for  you,  madam  %  " 
She  told  him  that,  like  her  Master,  she  was 
goiug  about  doing  good.  She  was  the  first 
directress  of  the  "  Hospital  for  Tota;l  Incura- 
bles." After  giving  several  touching  cases  of 
hopeless  efforts  for  helpless  victims,  she  finally 
asked  him  if  he  could  not  prepare  and  deliver 
a  gratuitous  lecture  for  the  benefit  of  the  said 
hospital!     She  said  that  she  had  tried  Mr. 


THE    PLAINT    OF    A   MINISTER'S    DOOR-BELL.     247 

Beecher,  and  Mr.  Gough,  and  Mr.  Chapin,  and 

Dr.  A ,  and  Mr.  B ;  and  now  she 

would  try  him.  The  poor  man  w^as  tried  with 
a  vengeance.  He  rose  presently  and  said : 
"  Madam,  I  am  holding  meetings  every  night. 
I  never  lecture.  Please  accept  these  five  dol- 
lars for  your  institution.  Good-morning !  " 
As  he  bowed  her  out,  I  saw  that  his  face  was 
flushed ;  but  just  then  a  man  came  up  with  a 
bundle  of  papers,  and  said  that  he  ''  only 
wanted  the  Doctor  to  look  over  these  testi- 
monials, and  to  give  him  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  the  collector  of  the  port !  "  This 
was  the  drop  too  much.  It  was  now  twelve 
o'clock,  and  not  a  line  on  the  sermon.  My 
master  (I  am  afraid)  did  not  order  his  speech 
very  delicately  w^hen  he  said :  "  Good  friend, 
this  is  not  the  Custom  house ! "  and  closed  the 
door.  The  morning  was  gone.  And  with  it 
the  sermon.  Next  Sunday  I'll  warrant  you 
that  somebody  will  come  out  of  church  and 
mutter,  "  Well,  the  Doctor  wasn't  quite  up  to 
the  mark  this  morning." 

Now  pray  don't  think  my  master  is  a  churl. 


248  THOUGHf-HIVES. 

He  is  a  kind,  forbearing,  hard-toiling  servant  of 
Christ.  He  only  asks  that,  while  he  is  doing 
his  peoi^les  work,  and  preparing  their  dis- 
course, he  may  not  be  plundered  of  his  precious 
time.  His  congregation  have  their  rights  also  ; 
and  he  will  not  consent  to  cheat  them  out  of 
their  gospel  food.  While  he  is  absorbed  in 
his  studies,  pray  do  not  intrude  with  irrelevant 
matters  ;  and,  if  you  do  come,  he  short.  Give 
him  his  morning  hours.  He  is  seeking  God's 
truth  to  save  immortal  souls.  Is  not  that  of 
more  importance  than  listening  to  the  tedious 
talk  of  importunate  intruders  % 

But  there  is  one  class  of  visitors  whom  my 
master  always  welcomes,  even  in  his  busiest 
moments  of  study.  He  loves  to  see  every 
man,  woman,  or  child,  rich  or  poor,  who  comes 
to  him  for  spiritual  counsel,  for  prayer,  for 
help,  or  to  help  him  do  his  Saviour's  work. 

The  other  day,  when  the  Widow  B came 

to  tell  him  of  her  son's  conversion,  he  followed 
her  to  the  door ;  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 

he    said :    "  God  bless  you.  Mother  B 1 

You  have  helped  me  make  my  sermon   this 


THE    PLAINT    OF    A    MINISTER'S    DOOR-BELL.     249 

morning."  I  have  seen  him  close  his  books  to 
go  off  with  a  poor  child  to  th^  "  Home  for  the 
Friendless."  He  is  always  ready  to  talk  with 
people  about  their  souls,  or  to  do  any  thing 
which  belongs  to  him  as  a  workman  conse- 
crated to  his  Master's  work.  For  the  sick, 
the  sinning,  the  dying,  the  bereaved,  he  has  an 
open  ear  and  an  open  heart.  But  he  is  too 
busy  to  be  bored  with  what  does  not  belong 
to  him. 

Remember  that  the  owner  of  this  house  has 
not  long  to  live.  He  has  no  time  for  trifles. 
The  door  is  always  open  to  the  sad,  the  sor- 
rowing, the  seekers  after  Jesus.  We  minis- 
ters' door-bells  are  often  pulled  by  trembling 
hands.  But  to  the  new-come  youth,  who  is  a 
stranger  in  this  great  city,  to  the  needy,  to  the 
applicant  for  religious  instruction,  to  the  seeker 
for  spiritual  aid,  this  little  door-bell  always 
whispers,  "  Come  and  welcome  !  " 


11  • 


STRENGTHENING   A   PASTOR'S 
HANDS. 


'*And  Jonathan,  Saul's  son,  arose  and  went  to  David  in  the 
wood,  and  strengthened  his  hands  in  God."  —  1  Sam.  xxiii.  16. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  friendship  was  that  which 
"^  ^  warmed  the  heart  of  the  tyrant's  son 
towards  David  the  hunted  fugitive  ;  it  was  a 
"  love  passing  the  love  of  woman."  Jonathan 
went  on  no  sentimental  errand  of  romantic 
affection,  but  from  a  lofty  sense  of  duty,  to 
strengthen  the  faith  and  to  cheer  the  spirit  of 
the  noblest  servant  of  God  then  living.  David 
had  a  mighty  work  to  do  for  Jehovah.  When 
the  faithful  Jonathan  went  out  to  strengthen 
his  hands  in  God,  it  was  that  those  hands 
might  yet  hold  Israel's  sceptre,  and  might  pen 
the  matchless  psalms,  and  might  protect  the 
ark  of  the  Lord.    We  can  imagine  these  godly 


STRENGTHENING   A    PASTOR's    HANDS.       251 

brothers  kneeling  down  together  amid  the 
thickets  of  Ziph,  and  pouring  out  their  hearts 
to  Him  who  was  their  "  refuge  and  stronghold 
in  the  time  of  trouble." 

That  was  probably  the  last  time  that  these 
twin-spirits  ever  met  on  earth.  The  black 
surge  of  civil  war  soon  rolled  between  them ; 
and  in  a  few  weeks  the  mangled  form  of  Jon- 
athan was  picked  up  on  the  bloody  field  of 
Gilboa.  It  must  have  been  a  sadly  precious 
thought  to  David,  that  the  last  time  he  ever 
saw  his  friend  was  when  he  came,  at  the  risk 
of  life,  to  strengthen  his  hands  in  God. 

Now,  every  true  pastor  is  "  anointed  of  the 
Lord,"  as  David  was,  to  do  a  holy  work. 
When  his  hands  hang  down  through  discour- 
agement, or  when  he  is  in  a  "  thick- wood  "  of 
troubles,  and  his  work  lags  or  fails  utterly  for 
want  of  helpers,  then  is  the  time  when  he 
needs  the  Jonathans.  Paul  found  his  in  that 
noble  committee  who  came  down  from  Eome 
to  Apii  Forum,  and  gave  him  such  a  recep 
tion  that  he  "  thanked  God,  and  took  cour- 
age."    How  many  a  minister  is  to-day  crippled 


252  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

in  his  work  and  well-nigh  crushed  in  spirit, 
just  for  the  want  of  hearty,  sympathetic,  godly 
supporters.  He  can  afford  to  wear  a  thread- 
bare coat,  and  to  go  hungry  for  books,  better 
than  he  can  to  "  spend  his  strength  for  naught." 
He  can  stand  an  empty  purse  better  than  an 
empty  prayer-meeting. 

How  shall  I  strengthen  the  hands  of  my 
pastor  1  cries  some  reader  whose  conscience  is 
suddenly  smitten  within  him.  You  can  do 
it  in  many  ways.  Go,  and  give  him  your 
hand  and  heart.  Talk  over  the  affairs  of 
your  church  (yours  as  much  as  his) ;  help  him 
to  lay  plans  of  usefulness,  and  then  help  him 
to  push  them  forward.  It  is  just  as  much 
your  duty  to  w^ork  for  the  Master  as  it  is  your 
minister's  duty. 

Perhaps  your  pastor  has  been  often  dis- 
heartened by  the  emptiness  of  your  pew  on 
the  Sabbath.  He  prepared  carefully  more 
than  one  sermon  especially  for  you ;  but  you 
were  not  there  to  hear  it ;  so  both  Suffered 
from  your  absence.  For  one,  I  confess  that  I 
never  yet  preached  a  sermon  loud  enough  to 


STRENGTHENING    A    PASTOR's    HANDS.       253 

awaken  a  parishioner  who  was  dozing  away 
the  day  at  home,  or  sauntering  off  to  other 
churches.  If  a  good  reason  keep  you  from 
your  pew,  send  a  substitute ;  invite  some 
church  -  neglecting  friend  to  go  and  occupy 
your  place.  Perhaps  the  sermon  may  save 
his  soul. 

When  a  discourse  is  adapted  to  the  spiritual 
condition  of  your  husband,  your  wife,  your 
son,  or  other  one  dear  to  you,  follow  it  up  with 
prayer  and  with  personal  efforts  for  that  friend's 
salvation.  While  your  pastor  is  endeavoring 
to  dravv:  your  unconverted  friend  to  Christ,  pray 
don't  pull  the  other  way.  The  backward  pull 
of  your  unkind  criticisms,  or  your  inconsist- 
ent conduct,  will  avail  more  than  the  forward 
drawing  of  his  sermon.  If  one  of  your  family 
comes  home  from  the  sanctuary  tender  and 
thoughtful,  try  to  deepen  their  impressions. 
Your  pastor  is  drawing :  draw  with  him. 
Strengthen  his  hands  in  God.  We  could 
name  certain  Sunday-school  teachers  who  al- 
ways bring  the  awakened  inquirers  in  their 
classes' immediately  to  their  pastor  for  conversa- 


254  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

tion :  in  those  classes  conversions  are  frequent, 
because  they  are  looked  for,  and  labored  for 
too.     Oh  for  more  such  Jonathans  ! 

It  is  a  happy  thing  to  have  even  one  worker 
in  our  churches.  But  it  is  far  better  to  have 
an  hundred.  Aaron  and  Hur  answered  very 
well  to  stay  up  Moses'  hands  for  a  few  brief 
hours  ;  but  what  if  our  "  Aaron  "  is  sick,  and 
our  "  Hur  "  is  out  of  town  1  Who  then  shall 
stay  up  the  arms  that  hang  down  for  want  of 
help  ?  We  don't  call  that  a  thrifty  apple-tree 
which  bears  all  its  fruit  on  one  limb  :  neither 
is  that  a  thrifty  church  in  which  half-a-dozen 
persons  do  all  the  praying  and  all  the  work- 
ing. Let  every  hand,  even  the  youngest  or 
the  feeblest,  be  stretched  forth  to  help  the 
ambassador  of  Christ,  and  a  revival  is  already 
begun. 

Finally,  the  power  your  minister  most  needs 
is  the  power  from  on  high.  This  comes 
through  prayer.  Peter's  eloquent  sermon  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  was  pioneered  by  the 
rousing  prayer-meeting  in  the  "  upper-cham- 
ber," and  three  thousand  souls  were  converted 


STRENGTHENING    A    PASTOR's    HANDS.       255 

before  sunset.  What  the  steam-cylinder  is  to 
the  engine,  that  is  the  prayer-meeting  to  the 
Church.  There  let  the  life,  the  heat,  the 
power  be  engendered.  And  when  the  place 
of  prayer  is  thronged  by  fervid  importunate 
souls,  then  how  gloriously  are  the  pastors 
hands  strengthened  in  God! 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEAES    IN    THE 
PULPIT* 


T^HERE  are  stages  and  halting-places  in  a 
■^  man's  journey  of  life,  —  such  as  Bun- 
yan's  Pilgrim  reached  at  the  Wicket  Gate  and 
the  House  Beautiful  and  the  Delectable  Moun- 
tains. One  such  point  of  retrospection  a  min- 
ister reaches  when  he  has  finished  a  quarter 
of  a  century  in  the  pulpit.  He  feels  like  sit- 
ting down  for  a  moment,  and  gazing  backward 
over  the  long  highway,  and  like  entering  a 
few  serious  thoughts  in  the  diary  of  his  exist- 
ence. The  writer  of  this  paragraph  has  come 
to  the  "  silver  wedding  "  of  his  ministry. 

Eleven  years  have  passed  since  we  spent  our 
first  Sabbath  with  the  Lafayette-avenue  Church. 
It  then  numbered  one  hundred  and  forty  mem- 
bers.    To-day  it  has  on  its  roll  fourteen,  hun- 

•  Written  in  Apnl,  1871. 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS    IN    THE    TULPIT.       257 

dred  and  three.  The  number  of  admissions  by 
profession  of  faith  has  been  smaller  than  in 
previous  years.  They  number  but  forty-two. 
In  the  most  successful  year  (1866)  there  were 
three  hundred  and  thirty  additions  ;  nearly  all 
on  confession  of  faith  in  a  new-found  Saviour. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  to-day  we  preached 
our  "  maiden "  discourse,  before  a  congrega- 
tion of  solid  and  somewhat  somnolent  farmers, 
in  the  little  hamlet  of  Clover  Hill,  New  Jersey. 
It  was  our  first  attempt  with  a  manuscript; 
and,  whether  from  excessive  fatigues  during  the 
previous  week  or  under  the  sermon,  several 
of  the  audience  —  like  the  first  farmer  in 
Eden  —  fell  "into  a  deep  sleep."  We  then 
learned  that  every  written  sermon  needs  the 
frequent  spur  of  a  spirited  extempore  passage. 

Before  that  first  year  closed  we  were  domes- 
ticated in  our  work  in  a  small  congregation  in 
quiet  Burlington,  at  that  time  the  residence 
of  the  pious,  kingly-hearted  Dr.  Cortland  Van 
Rensselaer,  and  of  Bishop  Doane,  who  was 
famous  for  his  High  Churchism,  and  his 
''  shovel-hat."    In  that  little  parish  of  Burling- 


258  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

ton  we  tasted  the  joys  of  our  first  revival.  It 
was  like  an  encamping  at  Elim  under  the 
threescore  and  ten  palm-trees,  and  beside  the 
twelve  wells  of  water.  A  call  from  Trenton, 
the  capital  of  the  State,  to  gather  a  new 
congregation,  took  us  thither  in  the  autumn 
of  1849.  A  new  edifice  was  reared,  and  from 
it  a  colony  has  since  "  swarmed  out "  to  form 
still  another  congregation.  It  is  a  matter  of 
profound  joy  to  us  to  have  been  permitted  to 
oversee  the  erection  of  three  church  edifices 
for  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  God  grant  that 
the  walls  of  those  structures  may  glitter  in  the 
light  of  the  millennial  morning ! 

After  our  ministry  in  Trenton  came  a  detour 
of  seven  years  through  the  quiet  domains  of 
our  Dutch  Reformed  neighbors  in  New  York. 
Happy  years  those  were,  too,  in  old  Market 
Street,  with  gracious  showers  in  the  golden 
year  of  1858.  We  left  our  Dutch  kinsfolk 
with  pleasant  memories,  and  without  ever 
having  learned  to  smoke  a  pipe,  or  being  con- 
taminated with  any  dangerous  degree  of  con- 
servatism.    In  1860  we  crossed  the  ferry  to 


TWENTY -FIVE    YEARS    IN    THE    PULPIT.       259 

Brooklyn ;  and  during  the  next  year  the  foun- 
dations of  Lafayette-avenue  Church  edifice 
Avere  laid,  amid  the  roar  of  Fort  Sumter's 
guns.  The  flag  that  celebrated  the  triumph 
of  freedom  floated  afterwards  from  its  towers. 
The  building  then  stood  almost  on  the  edge  of 
Brooklyn :  it  is  now  about  at  the  centre. 

These  five  and  twenty  years  have  been  spent 
in  unbroken  labor,  each  day  rounded  with 
sound  honest  sleep.  We  count  it  a  subject  for 
devout  thankfulness  that  we  have  never  been 
kept  from  the  pulpit  by  sickness,  except  on 
one  single  Sabbath!  If  any  ministerial 
brother  who  believes  in  using  a  little  ale  or 
port  wine  "  for  his  stomach's  sake  "  has  done 
better  than  that,  we  should  be  happy  to  form 
his  acquaintance.  Sleep  is  worth  more  than 
all  the  stimulants  in  the  universe.  During 
this  quarter  of  a  century  we  have  preached 
about  four  thousand  times,  and  made  about  as 
many  public  addresses.  We  have  been  per- 
mitted to  receive  2,527  persons  into  church- 
fellowship,  of  whom  twelve  hundred  united 
on  profession  of  faith. 


260  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

But  if  we  were  called  on  to  decide  between 
the  spiritual  results  of  labors  with  the  tongue 
and  labors  with  the  pen,  we  might  give  the 
preference  to  the  latter.  During  our  whole 
ministry  we  have  made  it  a  rule  never  to  let 
a  week  pass  without  at  least  one  article  of  a 
moral  or  religious  character  —  long  or  short 
—  being  sent  to  the  press.  These  articles 
number  about  thirteen  hundred.  Their  circu- 
lation in  Great  Britain  and  Canada  has  been 
almost  as  general  as  in  the  United  States. 
We  have  made  a  proximate  calculation  of  the 
number  of  copies  printed  during  these  twenty- 
five  years,  and  find  that  they  amount  to  over 
fifty-five  millions !  If  each  copy  had  but  a 
single  reader,  here  were  fifty-five  millions  of 
opportunities  to  reach  immortal  souls !  We 
hope  that  our  readers  will  pardon  this  per- 
sonal allusion:  we  throw  out  the  fact  as  a 
stimulus  to  our  ministerial  brethren  to  make  a 
more  liberal  use  of  the  pen,  and  the  weekly 
religious  press.  All  that  we  have  accom- 
plished has  been  small  in  comparison  with 
the    widely  cumulated   writings   of    Newman 


TWENTY-FIVE    TEARS    IN    THE   PULPIT.       261 

Hall,  Spurgeon,  and  the  pastor  of  Plymouth 
Church. 

Looking  back  to-day  to  the  starting-point  of 
our  ministerial  life,  we  are  amazed  at  the 
changes  which  this  quarter  of  a  century  has 
witnessed.  When  we  began  our  work  the 
Mexican  war  was  just  opening  ;  and  California 
had  not  yet  yielded  up  her  golden  secret  to 
mankind.  The  magnetic  telegraph  was  in  its 
infancy.  But  one  line  of  ocean  steamers 
existed  on  the  globe !  The  statesmanship  of 
America  was  then  chiefly  occupied  in  con- 
structing new  guarantees  for  the  peace  and 
perpetuity  of  the  '^peculiar  institution." 
Thank  God !  we  saw  the  last  bubble  rise  to 
the  surface  to  mark  where  Pharaoh  perished 
with  his  chariots  and  horsemen ! 

Clay,  Webster,  and  Calhoun  then  led  the 
American  forum.  Lyman  Beecher,  Archibald 
Alexander,  Albert  Barnes,  and  Dr.  Thornwell 
were  the  representative  men  of  our  Calvinistic 
pulpit.  That  resplendent  "  star  "  which  now 
hangs  over  Brooklyn  heights  was  just  rising 
above  the  horizon,  from  an  obscure  parish  in 


262  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Indiana.  Chalmers  was  then  the  foremost  pul- 
pit orator  on  the  globe.  Spurgeon  was  but  a 
schoolboy  in  his  eleventh  year.  Skinner,  Cox, 
Kirk,  Bascom,  Wayland,  and  Addison  Alexan- 
der were  in  their  splendid  meridian. 

At  that  day  the  fresh  rupture  between  the 
*'01d"  and  "New  School"  Presbyterianism 
was  ghastly  and  gaping,  —  a  great  ugly  wound 
that  threatened  to  ulcerate.  Little  did  we  then 
dream  of  occupying  a  seat  in  the  first  reunited 
General  Assembly. 

So  has  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  flown 
by,  —  "  like  a  tale  that  is  told."  At  the  risk 
of  being  charged  with  egotism  we  have  nar- 
rated the  meagre  story  of  our  small  part  in 
its  sayings  and  doings.  It  has  gone  with  its 
account  into  the  record-book  of  the  day  of 
Judgment.  When  the  next  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury ends,  the  hand  which  pens  these  lines 
will  probably  be  motionless.  Another  voice 
will  be  heard  in  yonder  pulpit.  God  grant 
that  both  pen  and  voice  may  never  declare  or 
publish  "  any  thing  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him 
crucified ! " 


THE  WOEKING   TEMPERANCE 
CHUECH. 


EYEEY  true  and  timely  moral  reform 
should  be  born  and  nursed,  and  reared 
and  supported  by  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 
There  is  not  a  single  moral  precept  which  sin- 
ful humanity  needs,  but  the  Church  should 
teach  it;  there  is  not  a  wholesome  example 
to  be  set,  but  the  Church  should  practise  it. 
That  Christian  church  will  be  the  most  Christ- 
like  which  does  the  most  to  "  seek  and  to  save 
the  lost." 

Among  all  the  great  moral  reforms,  none 
has  a  stronger  claim  on  Christian  men  and 
Christian  ministers  than  the  enterprise  for 
saving  society  from  the  crime  and  curse  of 
drunkenness.  And  intemperance  never  will 
be  checked,  the  liquor  traffic  never  will  be 
prohibited,  the  drinking  usages  of  social  life 


264  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

will  never  be  overthrown  until  the  members  of 
Christ's  Church  all  feel  that  they  are  also 
members  of  Christ's  great  Temperance  Society. 
If  the  Church  does  not  save  the  world,  then 
the  world  will  sink  the  Church.  And  what  a 
burlesque  it  is  to  style  that  church  organi- 
zation a  "  salt  of  the  earth  "  which  has  a  trim- 
mer in  its  pulpit  and  tipplers  in  its  pews  ! 

Holding  these  incontrovertible  opinions,  we 
earnestly  insist  that  every  Christian  church 
which  expects  to  do  its  whole  work  must  have 
a  Temperance  departme^it  as  much  as  a  Sun- 
day school  or  a  missionary  department.  It 
must  have  a  machinery  to  promote  total  absti- 
nence, just  as  much  as  a  machinery  to  pro- 
mote Bible  distribution  or  Mission-schools,  or 
Sabbath  observance.  A  well-appointed  steamer 
must  have  not  only  a  good  engine  in  its  hull 
and  a  good  pilot  at  the  wheel,  but  a  good 
supply  of  life-preservers  in  the  cabins. 

What  are  some  of  the  essential  features  of 
a  working  Temperance  Church  ? 

I.  We  reply  that  the  first  essential  is  a 
thorough  teetotaller  in  its  pulpit     An  active 


THE  WORKING  TEMPERANCE  CHURCH.   265 

Temperance  Church  with  a  wine-bibbing  min- 
ister is  as  rare  a  curiosity  as  a  victorious  army 
with  a  drunken  comaiander.  A  zealous  tee- 
totaller will  not  only  practise  abstinence  from 
intoxicating  drinks,  but  he  will  preach  it  as  a 
vital  part  of  his  gospel-message  on  the  Lord's 
day.  The  Bible  abounds  in  Temperance  texts  ; 
and  every  community  abounds  in  people  who 
need  to  hear  them.  It  is  the  pastor's  office  to 
expound  the  causes  and  the  curse  of  drunken- 
ness. It  is  his  office  to  create  a  Temperance 
conscience  among  his  congregation.  It  is  his 
duty  to  take  the  lead  in  arranging  and  con- 
ducting Temperance  meetings  in  his  neigh- 
borhood. 

Not  only  may  a  zealous  Temperance  pastor 
look  for  revivals  in  his  flock,  but  also  for  a 
more  extended  influence  among  the  surround- 
ing world. 

A  fearless  preacher  against  popular  sins 
commands,  in  the  long-run,  the  popular  ear 
and  the  popular  heart.  Let  the  career  of  a 
Beecher  in  Brooklyn,  a  Tyng  in  New  York, 
a  Barnes  in  Philadelphia,  a  Kirk  in  Boston, 

12 


266  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

and  a  Hatfield  in  Chicago  testify  to  this  fact. 
The  minister  who  brings  God's  Word  to  bear 
against  the  great  sins  of  the  time  must  be 
heard  and  will  be  felt.  He  may  repel  a  few 
trimmers  and  time-servers  ;  he  may  awaken 
some  bad  passions  in  the  self-indulgent  and 
the  lovers  of  their  lusts ;  but  he  attracts  to 
him  the  warm-hearted,  the  philanthropic,  the 
spiritually  -  minded.  Drunkards'  wives  will 
persuade  their  husbands  to  come  and  hear 
him.  Mothers  will  rejoice  to  place  their 
sons  under  his  faithful  ministry.  The  benevo- 
lent will  co-operate  with  such  an  earnest  ad- 
vocate of  Christian  reform.  The  masses  love 
and  honor  a  hold  defender  of  the  right.  It  is 
not  the  man  who  drifts  with  the  current  of 
evil,  but  he  who,  like  the  sure-anchored  rock, 
stems  the  current,  that  is  sure  to  arrest  the 
popular  attention  and  command  the  popular 
heart. 

II.  Every  efficient  church  should  have  a 
well-organized  total  abstinence  society.  The 
title  to  membership  should  be  the  simple 
signing     of    the    abstinence     pledge.       W^ 


THE  WORKING  TEMPERANCE  CHURCH.   267 

would  recommend,  also,  that  an  annual  pay- 
ment of  a  half-dollar  should  be  made  by 
each  member,  in  order  to  provide  some  per- 
manent income  for  the  society.  Collections 
should  also  be  taken  up  at  public  meetings  ; 
but  tickets  of  admission  should  seldom  be  used, 
because  they  tend  to  exclude  the  very  persons 
who  most  need  the  benefit  of  the  lecture.  The 
public  meetings  of  church  societies  should  be 
held  in  the  church  edifice,  and  as  often  as 
proper  advocates  of  the  cause  can  be  secured 
to  address  them.  Better  no  meetings  at  all 
than  to  have  the  audiences  trifled  with  by  a 
catch-penny  bufl'oon  or  ranting  adventurer. 
The  number  of  acceptable  speakers  might  be 
vastly  increased  if  Christian  laymen,  as  well 
as  ministers,  would  fit  themselves  for  this 
noble  and  needed  work  by  studying  Temper- 
ance books  and  publications.  It  is  easier  to 
make  a  good  Temperance  address  than  a  good 
political  speech ;  but  political  speakers  are 
plenty  as  blackberries. 

The  best  possible  music  should  be  provided 
for  all  public  meetings,  aid  the  Pledge  should 


268  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

always  be  circulated  at  the  close.  It  is  the 
province  of  the  society  to  subscribe  for  and 
circulate  Temperance  papers  through  the  con- 
gregation. Several  times  in  each  year  the 
tracts  of  the  National  Temperance  Society 
might  be  distributed  in  the  pews. 

Such  an  organization  does  not  require  much 
*'  constitution  and  by-laws,"  or  many  officers. 
A  wide-awake  president,  vice-president,  secre- 
tary, and  treasurer,  and  a  live  board  of  half 
dozen  "  managers,"  are  amply  sufficient. 
Choose  your  president  for  his  working  qual- 
ities, and  not  for  his  "  name."  All  meetings 
should  be  opened  with  prayer  or  the  reading 
of  God's  Word 

In  Surrey  Chapel,  London,  the  celebrated 
Newman  Hall  has  a  Temperance  society  which 
has  enrolled  8,000  members  in  fifteen  years  ; 
150  reformed  inebriates  have  been  received 
into  membership  with  the  church  in  which 
Brother  Hall  is  so  bold  and  faithful  a  spiritual 
leader.  There  is  also  a  Band  of  Hope,  which 
enrolls  a  great  number  of  children. 

III.  This  leads  us   to  say  that  a  working 


THE    WORKING   TEMPERANCE    CHURCH.      269 

Temperance  Church  will  lay  out  no  small 
part  of  its  efforts  on  the  youth  of  the  Sunday 
school.  Here  is  the  point  to  apply  preven- 
tion. As  the  Sunday  school  deals  with  the 
beginning  of  life,  it  should  logically  deal  with 
the  beginnings  of  sin.  If  all  our  children 
could  be  kept  from  touching  the  first  glass, 
intemperance  would  disappear. 

In  efiicient  Sunday-school  operations,  the 
following  are  absolutely  indispensable  :  — 

Good  Temperance  books  in  the  library. 

A  circulation  of  the  Youtlis  Temperance 
Banner^  or  some  similar  paper,  among  the 
scholars. 

The  Total  Abstinence  Pledge  discreetly 
administered  by  the  teachers. 

Frequent  and  simple  addresses  to  the  school 
on  the  dangers  of  tampering  with  drink,  and 
on  the  sin  and  sorrows  of  the  drunkard. 

No  teacher's  breath  should  ever  be  flavored 
by  the  odors  of  the  wine-glass  or  the  beer- 
cup. 

Total  Abstinence   should   be   taught   as  a 


270  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

Christian  virtue.  "  Woe  unto  him  who 
causeth  one  of  these  little  ones  to  stumble." 

IV.  Our  final  recommendation  is,  that  every 
church-member  should  make  Temperance  a 
part  of  his  daily  religion.  The  bottle  is  the 
deadliest  foe  to  Christ  in  our  churches  and  our 
communities.  A  friend  of  Christ  must  be  the 
enemy  of  the  bottle.  More  souls  are  ruined 
by  the  intoxicating  cup  than  by  any  single 
vice  or  error  on  the  globe.  Every  professed 
Christian  who  gives  his  example  to  the  drink- 
ing usages  is  a  partner  in  the  tremendous 
havoc  which  those  evil  customs  produce. 

"  If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,"  said  the 
Divine  Master,  "  let  him  deny  himself ^  And 
the  great  Apostle  only  clenched  this  glori- 
ous precept  when  he  said,  "It  is  good  not  to 
drink  wine  whereby  my  brother  stumbleth,  or 
is  offended,  or  is  made  weak."  On  this  immu- 
table rock  of  self-denial  stands  the  Temper- 
ance reform !  There  the  Divine  Founder  of 
Christianity  placed  it ;  with  Christianity  it  is 
linked;    with   Christianity   it   will    stand    or 


THE    WORKING    TEMPERANCE    CHURCH.      271 

perish.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  close  this 
brief  paper  with  the  declaration  that  with  the 
triumph  and  prevalence  of  Christian  self 
denial  in  the  Church  is  bound  up  the  only 
hope  of  the  triumph  and  prevalence  of  pure 
Christianity  in  our  world. 


DIGGING  FOE  WATER. 


O  OME  of  the  "  out  -  of-  the  -  way  "  passages 
*^^  in  God's  Word  contain  precious  teach- 
ings, which  will  repay  us  for  hunting  them 
out  and  turning  them  up.  There  is  a  rich 
ore  of  truth  hidden  under  them.  For  exam- 
ple, there  is  an  historical  incident  narrated 
in  the  third  chapter  of  the  Second  Book  of 
Kings  which  is  very  seldom  noticed.  We 
read  that  the  kings  of  Judah  and  of  Israel 
were  at  war  with  the  heathen  armies  of 
Moah.  The  armies  of  the  Lord  were  suffer- 
ing from  the  want  of  water.  Within  the 
compass  of  a  seven  days'  journey  they  can- 
not find  a  drop.  In  their  straits  they  send 
for  God's  prophet,  Elisha.  He  becomes  God's 
oracle,  and  gives  them  this  message  from 
Heaven :  "  Thus    saith   the   Lord,   make   the 


DIGGING    FOR    WATER.  273 

land  full  of  ditches^  The  word  may  be 
better  translated  trenches.  How  shall  they 
be  filled  %  That  is  not  their  concern.  It  is 
the  duty  of  faith  not  to  question,  but  to  obey. 
"  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  ye  shall  not  see 
^vind,  neither  shall  ye  see  rain ;  yet  this  valley 
shall  be  filled  "with  loater^  that  ye  may  drink  ; 
both  ye,  and  your  cattle,  and  your  beasts." 
The  trenches  were  dug,  and  presently  the 
waters  began  to  steal  into  them  from  some 
mysterious,  invisible  source.  It  was  not  an 
ordinary  process  of  Nature ;  but  a  super- 
natural process,  accomplished  by  the  direct 
agency  of  God.  All  the  awakening,  con- 
verting, and  quickening  power  that  operates 
on  human  souls  is  reaUy  supernatural.  Up 
to  a  certain  point  human  agency  acts,  but 
not  one  hair's  breadth  further.  "  Paul  may 
plant,"  and  there  he  stops ;  "  Apollos  may 
water,"  and  there  he  must  stop.  Then  comes 
in  the  divine  agency,  when  "  God  giveth  the 
increase."  All  that  the  thirsting  Israelites 
could  do,  or  were  asked  to  do,  was  simply  to 
dig  the  trenches.     And  then    a    supernatural 

12  ♦ 


274  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

power  filled  them  mysteriously  with  water. 
There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any 
Huxley,  or  Tyndall,  or  Darwin  in  the  camp, 
to  teach  God's  people  that  supernatural 
agencies  are  never  exerted,  even  for  a  good 
object.  The  simple-hearted  Israelites  w^anted 
water,  and  they  dug  channels  for  God  to  pour 
it  in.  They  prepared  for  a  blessing,  and  the 
blessing  came. 

This  is  the  pithy  and  practical  truth  that  we 
find  by  lifting  up  this  text  and  looking  under 
it.  It  is  a  suggestive  one  to  hundreds  of  our 
churches,  which  have  long  been  languishing 
in  spiritual  drought.  If  we  want  spiritual 
blessings,  we  must  dig  the  trenches  to  receive 
them. 

The  first  trench  that  ought  to  be  opened  in 
some  churches  is  a  deep,  broad  channel  of 
mutual  confidence  and  brotherly  love.  When 
Christians  grow  cold  and  neglectful  of  their 
own  duties,  they  grow  censorious  toward  each 
other.  As  love  declines,  the  critical  temper 
increases.  Al]  along  the  eaves  of  a  cold 
church   hang   the   sharp,  piercing   icicles    of 


DIGGING    FOR    WATER.  275 

criticism  and  censoriousness.  Then  every- 
body suffers.  The  pastor  catches  his  share  : 
his  most  honest  efforts  are  the  most  censured. 
The  officers  of  the  church  are  blamed  roundly, 
and  those  who  happen  to  be  unpopular  are 
made  the  luckless  scapegoats  on  which  to  load 
the  failures  of  the  church.  Each  blames  the 
others  ;  but  no  one  goes  down  in  the  dust  of 
contrition  and  blames  himself.  Sometimes  this 
censoriousness  is  born  of  the  very  impatience 
at  the  want  of  success.  Sometimes  good  men 
and  women,  vexed  that  things  do  not  go  better, 
fall  to  hitting  right  and  left  their  fellow-mem- 
bers, theu'  officers,  the  pastor  getting  a  black- 
ened eye  among  the  rest.  It  is  as  if  a  rifleman 
on  the  battle-field,  seeing  the  fight  go  badly, 
quits  firing,  and  takes  to  battering  his  com- 
rades with  the  butt  of  his  rifle.  Whereas  his 
own  example,  in  just  standing  firm  and  taking 
sure  aim  at  the  foe,  would  do  more  to  restore 
the  battle  than  all  his  disorderly  assaults  on 
his  fellow-soldiers.  The  charity  that  "  think- 
elh  no  evil,"  and  is  "  not  easily  provoked,"  and 
that  "  seeketh  not  her  own"  (way),  is  the  first 


276  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

grace  to  be  exercised  in  many  a  cold,  dis- 
cordant, fault-finding  church.  How  can 
Christians  expect  the  outside  world  to  put 
confidence  in  them  when  they  put  so  little 
confidence  in  each  other?  The  first  duty  in 
such  a  church  is  to  run  a  deep,  broad  trench 
of  cordial  charity  and  brotherly  love  right 
through  the  whole  congregation.  This  trench 
must  be  dug  by  every  one  hefore  his  own  doo7\ 
Another  trench  to  be  opened  speedily  is 
earnest,  penitential  prayer.  This  is  God's 
appointed  "  channel  to  convey  the  blessings 
he  designs  to  give."  I  sometimes  think  that 
there  are  no  equal  number  of  utterances  by 
reputable  people  in  which  so  many  false- 
hoods are  told  as  in  public  prayers.  Loving 
words  are  often  spoken  by  people  whose 
hearts  rankle  with  mean  spites  and  mali- 
cious grudges.  Sins  are  glibly  confessed  in 
prayer  which  if  anybody  else  should  charge 
upon  the  speaker  he  would  grow  red  in  the 
face  with  wrath.  Words  of  solemn  self-con- 
secration are  fluently  uttered  by  persons  who 
are   living    to   themselves,  and   not   to   Jesus 


DIGGING    FOR    WATER.  277 

Christ.  Such  prayers  are  a  mockery.  They 
cut  no  channels  for  God's  blessings.  But 
genuine  prayer — born  of  contrition  and  soul- 
thirst,  poured  out  with  faith  and  wrestling  im 
portunity  —  breaks  its  way  up  to  the  Throne 
of  Infinite  Love.  Such  prayer  always  brings 
a  revival ;  nay,  it  is  itself  a  revival. 

A  third  work  of  preparation  for  the  divine 
blessing  is  equally  indispensable.  It  is  per- 
sonal repentance  of  sin.  Not  of  other  people's 
sins,  but  of  our  own.  The  best  draining  of 
a  farmer's  field  is  sub-soil  drainage.  In  our 
churches  we  need  a  sub-soil  repentance.  It 
must  cut  deep.  It  must  cut  up  sin  by  the 
root.  If  the  ploughshare  run  through  the 
flower-beds  and  melon-patches  of  our  self- 
indulgence,  so  much  the  better.  The  trench 
that  drains  off  our  sins  will  be  a  channel  for 
the  sw^eet,  life-giving  waters  of  salvation. 

We  might  mention  other  trenches  that  are 
needed,  —  such  as  hard  work  and  liberality 
in  giving  for  Christ.  The  wider  we  cut  these 
channels,  the  broader  and  the  fuller  will  be 
the    stream   of   God's    blessings.     Thus    saith 


278  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

the  Lord  to  his  people,  "  Make  your  valley 
full  of  trenches"  We  may  "  see  no  wind 
nor  rain."  We  may  hear  no  sounds  of  violent 
excitement.  But  silently  and  steadily  the  tides 
of  spiritual  influence  will  flow  into  our  souls. 
As  the  tides  rise  from  the  ocean  over  bare 
and  slimy  ground,  and  lift  up  the  keels  of 
grounded  vessels,  so  shall  these  blessings  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  flow  into  our  churches.  Not 
by  might,  not  by  human  power,  but  ''  by  my 
Spirit,  saith  the  Lord." 

Brethren,  this  plain-spoken  article  may 
reach  scores  of  churches  who  are  so  dry  that 
there  is  "no  water  within  a  compass  of  seven 
days'  journey."  God's  command  to  you  is  to 
prepare  for  blessings,  or  they  will  never  come. 
When  your  trenches  are  ready,  the  currents 
of  spiritual  power  will  flow  in.  If  you  want 
water,  dig  for  it ! 


THE   SHEPHERD'S   SLING. 

A  Plea  for  Foreign  Missions. 


'*  Then  said  David  to  the  Philistine,  Thou  comest  to  me  with  a 
sword,  and  with  a  spear,  and  with  a  shield :  but  I  come  to  thee 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts."  —  1  Sam.  xvii.  45. 

nr^HxiT  was  a  remarkable  encounter  which 
-*-  once  took  place  in  the  little  valley  of 
Elah.  With  its  thrilling  story  you  are  all  as 
familiar  as  you  are  with  the  grapple  of  Amer- 
ican yeomanry  on  Bunker  Hill,  or  with  the 
dear-bought  victory  of  freedom  on  the  heights 
of  Gettysburg.  Erom  our  early  childhood 
we  have  all  loved  to  read  the  brief  epic  of 
jJavid  and  Goliath.  With  our  childish  eyes 
we  distinctly  saw  the  boastful  champion  of  the 
Philistines  plant  himself  in  full  view  of  Israel, 
and  of  Israel's  heathen  foes. 

The  champion  measures  six  cubits  and  a 
span  ;  and  every  inch  of  his  giant  stature  is 
encased  in  flashing  brass.     The  stafl"   of  his 


280  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

spear  is  like  to  a  weaver's  beam ;  the  head  of 
his  spear  weighs  six  hundred  shekels  of  iron. 

_  A  shield-bearer  goes  before  him.  His  impious 
proclamation  is  :  "I  defy  the  armies  of  Israel 
this  day :  give  me  a  man,  that  we  may  fight 
together." 

For  forty  days  the  heathen's  challenge  re- 
mains unaccepted,  and  for  forty  days  the  heart 

•  of  Israel  is  growing  weaker  than  water.  At 
length  a  shepherd's  boy  fresh  from  his  flocks, 
with  the  ruddy  tint  of  toil  on  his  fair  young 
face,  steps  modestly  forth  into  the  lists.  In 
one  hand  he  carries  a  staff  ;  in  the  other  he 
carries  a  common  sling.  He  has  dropped  five 
smooth  stones  into  the  shepherd's  pouch  by 
his  side.  These  are  his  only  weapons ;  the 
protection  of  God  is  his  only  armor.  Even 
so  was  ruddy-cheeked  free  labor,  fresh  from  its 
fields,  pitted  against  the  giant  of  oppression 
in  our  late  national  conflict, 

I  need  not  recount  to  you  the  bulletin  of 
that  battle  at  Elah,  —  so  short,  so  sharp,  and 
so  decisive.  I  need  not  repeat  to  you  modest 
David's    reply    to   the    disdainful    champion 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  281 

'  Thou  comest  to  me  with  a  sword,  and  with  a 
spear,  and  with  a  shield  :  but  I  come  to  thee 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  whom  thou 
hast  defied."  I  need  not  tell  you  how  the 
stripling  put  his  hand  in  his  bag,  and  took 
thence  a  stone,  and  slung  it,  and  smote  the 
Philistine  in  his  forehead,  and  he  fell  upon  his 
face  to  the  earth.  I  need  not  depict  to  you 
the  triumphant  youth  standing  on  the  giant's 
prostrate  carcass,  and  hewing  off  his  swagger- 
ing head;  nor  the  subsequent  rout  of  the 
heathen  before  Israel's  reassured  and  victo- 
rious armies. 

I  have  brought  to  you  this  narrative  as 
a  starting-point  and  an  illustration.  It  fur- 
nishes a  happy  parable  of  the  "  irrepressible 
conflict "  between  God's  right  and  the  devil's 
wrong.  Goliath  typifies  the  giant  of  Error 
that  for  forty  centuries  has  defied  the  living 
God  Kuddy  Da\id  is  the  Missionary  Church. 
The  five  smooth  stones  are  Gospel  truths. 
The  staff  they  bear  is  the  unbroken  promise 
of  God.  Before  the  "  countless  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses "  in  heaven  and  on  earth  the  conflict  is 


282  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

joined ;  and  all  that  "  assembly  shall  know 
that  the  Lord  saveth  not  with  sword  and 
spear ;  for  the  battle  is  the  Lord's"  and  he 
will  yet  give  the  enemy  into  our  hands. 

If  the  striphng  of  Bethlehem  seemed  a 
most  unequal  match  for  the  brazen-mailed 
giant  of  Gath,  how  much  more  dispropor- 
tionate is  the  Church's  missionary  band  to 
the  stupendous  enemy  which  they  confront ! 
Worldly  wisdom  smiles  at  what  it  styles  their 
"  weak-minded  enthusiasm ; "  and,  while  it 
coldly  commends  their  object,  it  predicts  an 
inevitable  failure.  But  the  little  band  stand 
to  their  post.  Rationalism  derides  them.  In- 
fidelity scoffs  at  them.  The  false  prophet  and 
the  false  priests  of  Baal  threaten  them.  But 
yet  the  little  band  toils  on.  When  one  of 
their  number  sinks  at  his  post,  there  is  another 
ready  to  step  forward  and  to  take  up  the  aban- 
doned implements  of  labor.  The  ranks  swell 
every  year ;  and  often  a  gentle  woman  steps 
forth,  and  with  meek  heroism  takes  up  the 
burden  of  a  toil  that  has  sunk  so  many  a 
strong    man   to   his   grave.       Occasionally   a 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  283 

youthful  missionary  falls  when  he  has  just 
learned  how  to  wield  his  sling.  Occasionally 
a  Lyman  or  a  Lowrie  is  struck  down  by  mur 
derous  violence.  A  Winslow,  a  Judson,  and 
a  Poor  sink  under  the  burden  of  the  long  day, 
and  are  laid  to  rest.  A  Father  Goodell 
comes  home  to  die.  A  nobler  life  no  man 
can  live,  a  sublimer  death  no  man  can  die, 
than  to  live  or  die  a  missionary  of  the  Cross  ! 

**  How  beautiful  it  is  for  man  to  die 
Upon  the  walls  of  Zion  !    To  be  called, 
Like  a  watch-worn  and  weary  sentinel, 
To  put  his  armor  off,  and  rest  in  heaven. 
What  is  the  warrior's  clarion  —  though  its  blast 
Ring  with  the  conquest  of  a  world  —  to  this  ? 

What  are  all 
The  trumpetings  of  proud  humanity 
To  the  short  history  of  one  who  dies  for  souls, 
And  makes  his  sepulchre  beside  the  King  of  kings  ?  " 

(a.)  Wherein  lies  the  real  power  of  the 
Missionary  Church?  (I  use  this  term  be- 
cause my  Bible  gives  me  no  other  idea  of  a 
true  church  than  a  missionary,  aggressive, 
reformatory,  soul-saving  body  of  working 
believers.)  Wherein  lies  her  power]  Mani- 
festly not  in  her  numbers;  for  she  embraces 


284  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

less  than  one-fourth  of  the  human  race.  Mani- 
festly not  in  her  earthly  resources ;  for  Mam- 
mon has  more  wealth  than  the  Church,  and 
Antichrist  possesses  cunninger  state-craft  and 
mightier  armies.  Her  power  lies  in  her  living 
union  with  the  living  God.  And  in  proportion 
to  her  closeness  of  union  with  Christ  Jesus 
will  she  be  sagacious  in  plan,  steadfast  of 
purpose,  fertile  in  resources,  zealous  in  labor, 
prevalent  in  prayer,  and  victorious  in  achieve- 
ment. Christ  is  in  the  Missionary  Church. 
He  is  not  in  heathenism,  or  in  Moslemism,  or 
in  Eome.  When  he  gave  the  Church  her 
commission,  "  Go,  teach  all  nations,"  he  sealed 
up  with  it  the  priceless  promise,  "Lo!  /  am 
with  you  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

With  one  slender  rod,  Moses  cleft  the  Eed 
Sea  asunder ;  but  God  was  in  the  rod.  With 
a  herdsman's  sling,  David  brought  down  the 
Philistine ;  but  God  strengthened  the  young 
shepherd's  arm,  and  guided  the  fatal  stone. 
Out  from  the  doorway  of  a  prayer-meeting 
in  Jerusalem,  a  handful  of  plain  people  issued 
forth,   to   turn   the   heathen    world    "  upside 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  285 

down,"  and  to  carry  the  cross  from  the  Eu- 
phrates to  the  Tiber.  But  Christ  went  with 
them  and  in  them  from  that  "  upper  chamber." 
Christ  flamed  on  Peter's  tongue ;  Christ  rea- 
soned from  Paul's  cultured  brain  ;  Christ  spake 
from  Apollos'  lips  ;  Christ  throbbed  in  the  pul- 
sations of  John's  warm  heart;  Christ  shone 
from  Stephen's  face,  when  it  was  like  unto  the 
face  of  an  angel.  Lo  !  I  am  with  you  ahoays, 
blazed  on  the  banners  of  every  apostolic  corps  ; 
Lo  !  I  am  with  you  always,  rang  as  her  bugle 
call  to  every  march  to  victory.  The  power  of 
that  missionary  apostolic  Church  lay  in  her 
piety ;  for  her  piety  was  the  measure  of  her 
union  with  Jesus  Christ.  And  in  our  day  the 
Church's  piety  is  the  Church's  power.  Do 
not  forget,  my  brethren,  this  truth  of  truths 
for  a  moment.  The  power  of  the  missionary 
Church  is  her  living,  toiling,  self-denying 
piety.  For  this  there  can  be  no  substitute. 
The  Church  may  increase  her  agencies  as  she 
will ;  she  may  multiply  her  machinery  a  hun- 
dred-fold ;  but  it  will  be  all  for  naught,  unless 
Christ  Jesus  be  the  "  living  Spirit  within  the 


286  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

wheels."  What  the  missionary  Church  now 
most  needs  is  another  Pentecost.  And  all 
ye  who  would  see  new  vigor  in  the  work  of 
missions,  who  would  see  a  new  zeal,  a  new 
liberality,  a  new  inspiration  in  the  Church  at 
home,  must  besiege  God's  mercy-seat  for  pow- 
erful, soul-quickening  revivals. 

(&.)  Look  now  with  me,  a  moment,  at 
another  element  of  strength  in  the  Missionary 
Church.  Not  only  is  the  power  of  God  prom- 
ised to  her  fidelity,  but  the  wisdom  of  God  is 
visible  in  the  choice  of  her  materials.  In  our 
modern  times,  God  has  put  His  gospel  faith 
into  the  best  races  on  the  globe.  David  has 
better  blood  in  his  veins  than  Goliath.  The 
races  to  which  God  has  intrusted  His  staff  and 
^Ye  smooth  stones  of  gospel  truth  are  the 
same  races  that  drew  up  Magna  Charta  and 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  —  the  races 
that  have  made  iron  types  to  talk  and  iron 
ships  to  swim,  —  that  have  strung  the  tele- 
graphic nerves  through  humanity's  limbs,  and 
have  woven  out  of  revealed  law  the  highest 
forms    vet  reached   of  Christian   civilization 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  287 

For  the  spread  of  His  gospel,  God  has  made 
Great  Britain  strong,  and  Holland  industrious, 
and  Germany  learned,  and  has  saved  our 
American  Kepublic  as  by  fire.  The  welfare  of 
Christianity  has  God  bound  up  with  the  Avel- 
fare  of  certain  races  and  nations.  If  this  be 
so,  how  vitally  important  it  is  that  those 
nations  who  essay  to  Christianize  other  nations 
should  themselves  be  Christianized  to  the  very 
core ! 

When  the  diplomacy  of  Christian  nations 
has  been  employed  to  outwit  simple  savages, 
and  the  commerce  of  Christian  nations  has 
been  employed  to  cheat  them ;  when  the 
same  ship  that  carried  out  the  Bible  was  also 
freighted  with  opium  and  firearms,  and  with 
handcuffs  to  bind  on  savage  limbs,  we  need 
not  wonder  that  the  very  name  of  Christianity 
became  an  opprobrium  and  a  terror.  Only  a 
short  time  ago  a  vessel  was  cleared  from  an 
American  port  to  the  coast  of  Africa,  which 
carried  seven  missionaries  in  her  cabin,  and 
several  hundred  barrels  of  New  England  rum 
in  hei  cargo  !     I  very  much  fear  that  the  con 


288  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

tents  of  her  cargo  will  prove  an  overmatch  for 
the  contents  of  her  cabin. 

Of  other  nations  I  am  not  to  speak.  But, 
for  my  own  beloved  land,  I  rejoice  to  say  that 
her  Divine  Deliverer  seems  to  be  preparing 
her  for  her  predestined  work  abroad  by  no  com- 
mon discipline.  What  our  liberated  land  now 
needs  is  another  baptism,  the  baptism  of 
Pentecost.  Wherefore,  all  ye  who  long  to 
see  America's  influence  go  forth  like  the 
morning  light  over  every  land,  I  pray  you 
that  ye  besiege  the  mercy-seat  for  powerful, 
purifying  Pentecostal  revivals. 

(c.)  Before  1  close,  let  me  remind  you  of 
another  pertinent  parallel  between  the  shep- 
herd-boy of  Israel  and  Christ's  Missionary 
Church.  The  young  David  of  Bethlehem 
brought  from  his  sheep-cote  to  the  battle- 
field of  Elah  a  hearty  frame,  a  rustic  sim- 
plicity, and  an  intrepid  heart.  Like  the 
strong-limbed  rail-hewer  of  our  day,  he  was 
a  plain-born  son  of  toil,  with  the  smell  of 
mother  earth  on  his  garments.  His  cheek 
was  ruddy  with  temperance ;  his  sinews  were 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  289 

knit  with  athletic  exercise.  That  rustic  son 
of  Jesse,  fresh  from  the  hills,  is  a  beautiful 
type  of  Christ's  Church  in  its  best  days, — 
its  days  of  self-denial,  —  its  apostolic  days, 
when  fishermen  and  tent-makers  conquered 
principalities  and  powers,  —  its  Reformation 
days,  when  the  miner's  son  from  Saxony,  and 
the  lean  student  of  Geneva,  smote  the  Papal 
Goliath,  —  its  Puritan  days,  when  Cromwell's 
"  Ironsides  "  sent  curl-pated  cavaliers  "  whirl- 
ing" over  Marston  Moor;  when  a  band  of 
Yorkshire  farmers  and  herdsmen  steered  the 
"Mayflower"  through  wintry  tempests  to 
bleak  Plymouth  Rock  !  And  in  our  days  the 
missionaries  of  the  cross  have  mostly  come 
from  such  households  as  the  household  of 
Jesse.     Herein  lies  a  lesson  and  a  warning. 

Brethren !  I  have  a  prodigious  fear  for 
our  metropolitan  churches.  I  fear  that  fast- 
growing  wealth  is  impoverishing  the  Church's 
piety;  I  fear  that  an  unparalleled  prosperity 
is  making  our  churches  luxurious,  fash- 
ionable, worldly-minded,  self-indulgent.  The 
religion     that    walks     on     life's    sunny    side 

13 


290  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

in  Paris  laces,  and  sips  its  choice  wines 
in  freestone  mansions,  is  not  the  religion 
that  breeds  missionaries,  or  fights  Goliaths. 

Don't  you  remember  reading  in  your  child- 
hood's favorite  fiction  about  Sinbad's  voyage 
into  the  Indian  Ocean?  Do  you  remember 
that  magnetic  rock  that  rose  from  the  surface 
of  the  placid  sea?  Silently  the  vessel  was 
attracted  toward  it;  silently  the  bolts  were 
drawn  out  of  the  ship's  sides,  one  by  one, 
through  the  subtle  attraction  of  that  magnetic 
rock.  And  when  the  fated  vessel  drew  so 
near  that  every  bolt  and  clamp  were  unloosed, 
the  whole  structure  of  bulwark,  mast,  and 
spars,  tumbled  into  ruin  on  the  sea,  and  the 
sleeping  sailors  awoke  to  their  drowning 
agonies  ! 

So  stands  the  magnetic  rock  of  worldliness 
athwart  the  Church's  path.  If  the  Church 
draw  too  near,  then  bolt  after  bolt  of  godly 
purpose  will  be  drawn  out,  clamp  after  clamp 
of  Christian  obligation  will  be  unloosed,  until 
the  sacred  argosy,  that  is  freighted  with  im- 
mortal hopes,  shall   tumble  into  a   shattered 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  291 

and    disgraceful    wreck.       Depend    upon    it, 
brethren,  that   God  will  never  sufFei   this  to 
be.     He  will   not  let  us  rob  Him.     Depend 
upon   it,  that   if  we   lie    down   to    luxurious 
slumber  on  couches    of  rosewood,  while  'he 
world  is  perishing.  He  will  snatch  the  couch 
from  beneath  us  in  financial  judgments.     If 
we   persist  in  paving  the  way  to  our  places 
of  amusement   and   our   parties    of  pleasure 
with  His    silver  and   gold.  He  will   wrest  it 
from  us  with    the  terrible  rebuke,  "  Ye  may 
no    longer   be   my   stewards ! "     Oh    for   the 
descent  of  a  Pentecostal  fire  to  consume  this 
"'wood,    hay,    and    stubble"    of    pomp    and 
luxury !      O  ye    who    long   to    see  the  self- 
pampering  churches  brought  back  to  a  hardier 
self-denial   and   a   holier  self-consecration !  I 
pray  you  that  ye  besiege  the  mercy-seat,  and 
labor,   too,  for    soul-humbling,  church-purify- 
ing revivals. 

But  I  must  not  weary  you  with  the  discus- 
sion of  a  widening  theme.  As  we  close,  we 
seem  to  be  looking  out  upon  the  stupendous 
confiict  between  light  and  darkness,  between 


292  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

the  hosts  of  truth  and  the  hosts  of  error.  The 
field  of  this  conflict  is  not  a  narrow  vale  of 
Elah :  it  is  the  wide,  wide  world.  Like  the 
swarming  squadrons  of  Philistia  on  the  moun- 
tain-sides, stand  the  combined  innumerable 
hosts  of  heathenism,  of  the  false  prophet,  and 
the  man  of  sin.  Like  the  brazen-mailed  giant 
of  Gath,  stands  Antichrist^ —  proud,  stubborn, 
impious,  and  defiant.  As  the  shepherd's  boy 
of  Bethlehem  came  forth  to  confront  Israel's 
foe,  so  come  forth  the  missionary  band  of 
Christ.  They  are  inferior  indeed  to  the  foe 
in  numbers ;  but  a  single  man,  with  God  on 
his  side,  is  in  the  majority.  In  the  missionary 
band  of  Christendom  are  represented  eighty- 
five  different  organizations.  Of  these,  twenty- 
two  hail  from  Great  Britain  ;  twenty  from  our 
beloved  Union  ;  thirteen  from  Germany  ;  nine 
from  little  Holland  ;  seven  from  the  lands  of 
the  "  Norsemen ;  "  one  from  France,  and  the 
remainder  from  British  colonies.  Of  these 
organizations,  the  two  largest  are  the  ''  Wes- 
leyan  Society  "  of  England,  and  the  "  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions."     As  the  roll  of 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  293 

the  American  Board  is  called,  three  hundred 
and  twenty  missionaries  answer  to  their  names. 
The  Presbyterian  Board  have  two  hundred  and 
forty  in  the  field.  These  are  the  men  of  whom 
the  most  eminent  Scotch  painter  once  said  to 
me,  "  America  has  produced  many  great  ar- 
tists and  authors  and  orators ;  but  the  most 
superior  body  of  men  she  has  yet  furnished 
are  her  missionaries."  Each  one  of  them  is 
equipped  with  the  staff  and  the  sling.  Each 
one  has  in  his  scrip  the  ^ve  smooth  stones 
from 

*•  Siloa's  brook, 
That  flows  fast  by  the  oracles  of  God." 

To  our  weak  faith,  these  missionary  bands 
seem  small  and  few  for  the  moral  conquest  of 
the  globe.  But  who  can  tell  how  many  Mar- 
tyns  and  Winslows  and  Duffs  the  eye  of  God 
may  discern  yet  waiting  in  the  household  of 
Jesse  1  Who  can  say  that  there  is  not  now 
upon  his  mother's  knee  another  Luther,  who 
shall  lead  the  last  great  onset  against  the  man 
of  sin ;  or  another  Calvin,  to  vindicate  the 
cross  before  European  scepticism  ;  or  another 


294  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Wesley,  to  awake  with  Gideon's  trumpet  a  for- 
mal church  to  fresh  revivals  and  a  loftier  zeal  1 
Who  can  tell  how  soon  the  eye  of  God  may 
see  an  American  missionary  preaching  Christ 
in  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  or  proclaiming  the 
downfall  of  the  Papacy  under  the  frescoed 
dome  of  St.  Peter's  ? 

That  time  is  coming  !  It  is  eighteen  cen- 
turies nearer  than  when  the  first  missionary 
concert  of  prayer  was  held  in  the  "  upper 
room  "  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  sixty  years  nearer 
than  when  the  first  American  missionary  sailed 
from  Boston  wharf  to  the  shores  of  India.  It 
is  as  sure  to  come  as  to-morrow's  sunrise.  Do 
you  ask,  When  will  that  time  arrive  ?  I  an- 
swer :  It  will  come  when  the  Church  of  Christ 
shall  pray  as  the  first  missionary  concert 
prayed  at  Jerusalem:  it  will  come  when  all 
the  followers  of  Jesus  shall  write  Holiness  to 
the  Lord  on  every  dollar  in  their  coffers ; 
when  the  Church  shall  consecrate  all  her 
children  to  self-denial  and  to  holy  toils,  and 
shall  train  every  David  from  his  cradle  to  wield 
the  sling!    Then,  all  the  world  shall    know 


THE    shepherd's    SLING.  295 

that  God  saveth  not  with  sword  and  spear; 
for  the  battle  is  the  Lord's,  and  on  the  brow 
of  the  Enthroned  La^ib  shall  rest  the  diadem 
of  victory. 


HEBER    AND    HIS    HYMN. 


'T^HEEE  have  been  men  who  have  won  an 
-^  honorable  immortahty  in  an  hour.  A 
brave  word  fitly  spoken,  or  a  noble  deed 
promptly  done,  has  given  them  a  place  on  the 
bead-roll  of  fame  for  ever.  Sometimes  in  a 
happy  moment  of  inspiration  a  poet  or  an 
orator  has  "  said  or  sung  "  what  will  last  for 
ages. 

One  of  these  happy  songsters,  whose  grand- 
est strain  was  born  in  an  hour,  but  which  the 
world  shall  never  willingly  let  die,  was  Eegi- 
NALD  Heber,  Bishop  of  Christ's  flock  in  Cal- 
cutta. If  the  great  mass  of  Christians  around 
the  globe  were  asked  to  name  the  two  English 
bishops  whose  memory  is  most  dear  to  them, 
they  would  probably  name  Jeremy  Taylor  and 
Eeginald  Heber.  Yet  the  veneration  and 
gratitude   felt   towards   the   latter    is    mainly 


HEBER    AND    HIS    HYMN.  297 

founded  upon  a  few  lines  which  he  threw  off 
in  a  sudden  inspiration,  and  which  could  be 
written  on  a  single  page. 

Reginald  Heber  was  born  at  Malpas,  in 
Cheshire,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1783.  He 
was  a  precocious  boy,  and  at  seven  years  of 
age  he  had  translated  Phaedrus  into  English 
verse.  His  prize  poem  at  Oxford  University 
on  "  Palestine,"  written  in  his  twentieth 
year,  stands  at  the  head  of  that  class  of  some- 
what ephemeral  productions.  His  "  Pales- 
tine "  will  live,  and  so  will  his  tender  and 
graceful  lines  to  his  wife  at  Bombay,  and  so 
will  his  nautical  hymn,  "  When  through  the 
torn  sail  the  tempest  is  streaming."  But  all 
his  poetry,  and  his  Bampton  lectures,  and  his 
able  Quarterly  Review  articles,  are  weighed 
down  by  his  single  matchless  missionary  hymn. 
Its  composition  was  on  this  wise. 

While  Reginald  Heber  was  rector  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  at  Hodnet,  in  Shropshire, 
he  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  father-in-law.  Dr. 
Shipley,  then  Vicar  of  Wrexham,  on  the  bor- 
der of  Wales.     Heber  was  in  his  thirty-sixth 

18* 


29^  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

year,  and  had  come  to  Wrexham  to  deliver 
the  first  of  a  series  of  Sunday  evening  lect- 
ures in  Dr.  Shipley's  church.  In  the  morn- 
ing of  that  same  day,  Dr.  Shipley  was  to 
deliver  a  discourse  in  behalf  of  the  "  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts." 

On  the  afternoon  before  "  Whit-Sunday " 
(1819),  Heber  and  his  father-in-law  sat  chat- 
ting with  a  few  friends  in  Dr.  Shipley's  par- 
lor. Dr.  Shipley,  knowing  his  son-in-law's 
happy  gift  in  rapid  composition,  said  to  him, 
"  Write  something  for  us  to  sing  at  the  service 
to-morrow  morning."  Short  notice  that,  for 
a  man  to  achieve  his  immortality.  Heber 
retired  to  another  part  of  the  room,  and  in  a 
little  time  liad  prepared  three  verses,  of  which 
the  first  one  ran  thus  :  — 

*•  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains  ; 

From  India's  coral  strand, 
Where  Afric's  sunny  fountains 

Roll  down  their  golden  sand ; 
From  many  an  ancient  river ; 

From  many  a  palmy  plain. 
They  call  us  to  deliver 

Their  land  from  error's  chain." 


HEBER    AND    HIS    HYMN.  299 

Heber  read  the  three  verses  over,  and  only 
altered  a  single  word.  The  seventh  line  of 
the  second  verse  was  — 

"  The  savage  in  his  blindness." 

The  author  erased  that  word,  and  substi 
tuted  for  it  the  better  word  heathen.  "  There, 
there,"  coolly  remarked  Dr.  Shipley,  "  that 
will  do  very  well."  Heber  was  not  satisfied, 
and  said,  "  No,  no  :  the  sense  is  not  complete." 
In  spite  of  his  father's  earnest  protest,  Heber 
withdrew  for  a  few  moments  longer,  and  then 
coming  back  read  the  following  glorious  bugle 
blast  which  rings  like  the  reveille  of  the 
millennial  morning:  — 

"  Waft,  waft,  ye  winds,  the  story. 

And  you,  ye  waters,  roll ! 
Tin,  like  a  sea  of  glory, 

It  spreads  from  pole  to  pole ! 
Till  o'er  our  ransomed  nature. 

The  Lamb  for  sinners  slain. 
Redeemer,  King,  Creator, 

In  bliss  returns  to  reign." 

"What  shall  we  sing  it  to]"  inquired  Dr. 
Shipley.     Mr.  Heber,  who  had  a  fine  musical 


300  THOUGHT-HIV±.S. 

ear,  suggested  a  popular  air  called  "  'Twas 
when  the  seas  were  roaring."  The  suggestion 
was  adopted,  and  on  the  next  morning  the 
people  of  Wrexham  church  listened  to  the 
"first  rehearsal"  of  a  lyric  which  has  since 
been  echoed  by  millions  of  voices  around  the 
globe.  The  air  to  Avhich  it  was  sung  origi- 
nally has  given  place,  at  least  in  oui'  American 
churches,  to  a  sonorous  and  lofty  tune  com- 
posed by  Dr.  Lowell  Mason.  The  air  is 
worthy  of  the  hymn,  and  both  are  perfect. 
No  profane  hymn-tinker  ever  dared  to  lay  his 
bungling  finger  on  a  single  syllable  of  those 
four  stanzas  which  the  Holy  Spirit  moved 
Reginald  Heber  to  write.  Little  did  the  young 
rector  of  Hodnet  dream,  as  he  listened  to  the 
lines  sung  that  Sabbath  morning,  that  he  was 
catching  the  first  strains  of  his  own  immor- 
tality. He  "  builded  better  than  he  knew." 
He  did  more  to  waft  the  story  of  Calvary 
around  the  earth  than  if  he  had  preached  like 
Apollos,  or  had  founded  a  board  of  missions. 
In  the  "  monthly  concerts,"  held  in  New  Eng- 
land school-houses,  in  frontier  cabins,  on  the 


HEBER    AND    HIS    HYMN.  301 

decks  of  missionary  ships  bound  to  "  Ceylon's 
Isle,"  and  in  the  vast  assemblies  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board,  Heber's  trumpet-hymn  has  been 
sung  with  swelling  voices  and  gushing  tears. 
It  is  the  marching  music  to  which  Christ's 
hosts  "  keep  step "  as  they  advance  to  the 
conquest  of  the  globe. 

Heber  lived  but  seven  years  after  the  com 
position  of  his  masterpiece.  In  June,  1823, 
he  departed  for  Calcutta  as  the  missionary 
Bishop  of  India.  For  three  years  he  toiled 
and  travelled  incessantly,  and  wherever  he 
went  his  apostolic  sweetness  of  character  and 
benignity  won  even  the  "  heathen  in  their 
blindness."  After  a  laborious  day's  work  at 
Trichinopoly,  he  went  to  his  bath  to  refresh 
his  weary  frame.  He  remained  in  the  bath- 
room until  his  attendants  became  alarmed,  and 
when  they  came  in  they  found  Reginald  Heber 
asleep  in  Jesus.  His  gentle  spirit  had  stolen 
away  to  join  in  the  "  song  of  Moses  and  of 
the  La^ib." 


NOTHING  BUT  LEAVES. 

A  Reverie  for  the  Close  of  the  Year. 


TESUS  was  on  his  way  from  Bethany  to 
^  Jerusalem,  —  "  hungry."  He  espied  a  fig- 
tree  afar  off,  well  laden  with  leaves.  As  that 
tree  puts  forth  its  fruit  in  advance  of  its  foli- 
age, when  a  man  should  discover  leaves  on 
it  he  would,  of  course,  expect  to  find  figs. 
The  successor  having  already  appeared,  he 
would  look  for  the  forerunner. 

Jesus  hastens  to  the  tree  which  had  tele- 
graphed to  him  already  that  it  was  in  bearing 
condition;  and  lo!  "he  found  nothing  hut 
leaves^  Forthwith  he  dooms  it  to  perpetual 
barrenness.  "  No  man  eat  fruit  of  thee  here- 
after for  ever."  The  deceitful  tree  thus  cursed 
of  its  Owner  withered  down  to  its  very  roots. 

Here  is  a  parable  for  the  close  of  the  year 
It  is  full  of  tender  and  touching  solemnity  to 


NOTHING  BUT  LEAVES.         303 

thousands  of  our  readers.  This  parable  from 
history  teaches  us  the  worthlessness  of  reh'g- 
ious  promises  that  are  never  fulfilled,  and  the 
guilt  of  appearing  to  be  fruit-bearers  when  the 
eye  of  God  sees  "  nothing  but  leaves." 

There  is  no  sin  in  promises.  Cherry-trees 
must  issue  their  white  and  fragrant  "  promis- 
sory notes  "  in  May,  or  there  would  be  no  pay- 
ment in  delicious  fruit  at  the  end  of  the  allotted 
sixty  days.  God  makes  precious  promises  to 
us  ;  and  a  converted  heart  is  only  in  the  line 
of  duty  when  it  makes  a  solemn  promise,  or 
covenant,  to  the  Church  and  its  Head  Christ 
Jesus.  There  is  no  sin  in  a  church-covenant 
honestly  made.     The  sin  is  in  breaking  it. 

How  full  of  leaves  was  the  plausible  fig-tree 
on  the  road  to  Bethany  !  How  profuse  of 
promises  is  many  a  young  professor,  as  he 
stands  up  laden  with  the  foliage  on  which  the 
dew-drops  of  hope  are  glistening  !  How  much 
his  pastor  expects  from  him.  He  makes  no 
reserve  when  he  covenants  to  "  consecrate 
himself,  all  that  he  is,  and  all  that  he  has, 
to  the  service  of  his  Redeemer."     As  many 


304  THOUGHT-HITES. 

a  reader  sees  this  solemn  sentence,  it  sends 
a  pang  to  their  hearts.  That  was  their 
promise.  They  once  put  forth  just  such 
"  leaves  "  before  their  Master's  eye,  and  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  men,  and  led  them  to  expect 
an  abundance  of  fruit.  For  a  time  the  glossy 
leaves  of  profession  made  a  fair  show.  But 
when  the  novelty  of  a  new  position  had  worn 
off,  and  that  time  of  reaction  came  which  al- 
ways follows  a  strong  mental  excitement,  then 
the  yoke  began  to  gall  the  conscience,  and 
every  religious  duty  became  an  irksome  drudg- 
ery. The  Cross  lost  its  charm  ;  prayer  lost 
its  power;  the  Word  of  God  lost  its  attrac- 
tion ;  the  very  name  of  Jesus  lost  its  hold ; 
and  church-membership  became  a  hateful 
mask  which  its  owner  was  ashamed  to  wear, 
and  yet  afraid  to  fling  away.  Before  the 
world,  the  fig-tree  still  bore  leaves ;  but  be- 
neath them  was  utter  barrenness. 

My  backsliding  friend !  this  tells  the  sad 
story  of  your  past  year's  life.  As  you  look 
back  over  the  barren  year  now  closing,  you 
find  nothing  hut  leaves.     Your  name  is  still  on 


NOTHING  BUT  LEAVES.         305 

a  church-record,  but  this  fruitless  wasted  year 
has  had  no  ''  record  on  high."  Out  of  all  the 
three  hundred  and  sixty  days  that  God  has 
cr'nen  you,  not  one  has  been  passed  with 
Christ,  not  one  is  marked  with  "  a  white 
stone "  of  fidelity.  Instead  of  a  sheaf,  you 
have  not  gathered  a  single  spear.  Instead 
of  leading  others  to  Christ,  you  have  not  even 
followed  Him  yourself.  Instead  of  growing  in 
grace,  you  have  lost  even  the  self-respect  which 
a  false  life  always  forfeits.  The  past  is  past. 
Fold  up  the  pages  of  this  dead,  barren,  wasted 
year,  and  write  on  it  the  bitter  inscription, 
"  Nothing  but  leaves." 

Will  you  bear  with  a  few  plain  truths  even 
though  they  have  a  sharp  edge?  You  need 
them,  and  they  are  spoken  in  love.  The 
simple  fact  is  that  you  are  "  backsliders  in 
heart."  The  best  evidence  of  this  assertion  is 
that  you  do  not  feel  as  you  once  felt,  you  do 
not  do  what  you  once  did,  you  do  not  enjoy  what 
you  once  enjoyed,  you  do  not  pray  as  you  once 
prayed,  and  you  do  not  live  as  you  did  in  the 
days  of  your  "  first  love."      You  are  off  the 


306  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

track,  and  are  on  a  track  that  leads  away 
from  heaven.  You  are  more  intent  on  making 
money,  or  in  pleasure-hunting,  or  in  pushing 
up  into  social  promotions,  than  you  are  in 
serving  God,  or  in  trying  to  save  sinners 
from  hell.  You  would  blush  if  you  attempted 
to  ask  an  impenitent  sinner  to  become  what 
you  profess  to  he !  Your  worldly  self-seek- 
ings  have  only  been  a  climb  up  to  that  dizzy 
"  mast-head  "  from  which  you  may  be  flung 
off  the  farther  into  the  yawning  sea.  If  you 
confess  your  sins  to  God,  you  still  cling  to 
them.  And  if  you  dealt  as  faithlessly  with 
your  fellow-men  as  you  deal  with  your  Lord, 
your  note  or  your  word  would  not  be  taken  by 
a  solitary  person  for  a  moment  I  While  you 
live  thus,  you  can  have  no  peace  of  conscience. 
While  you  live  thus,  neither  the  Church  ilor 
the  world  fully  trusts  you  ;  for  you  once  left 
the  world  to  join  the  Church,  and  then  slipped 
away  from  the  very  fellowship  which  you  still 
profess  to  hold.  While  you  live  so,  you  are 
nullifying  your  pastor's  labors,  and  voting  de- 
liberately against  a  revival  of  religion  in  your 


NOTHING    BUT    LEAVES.  307 

cliurcli.  Not  only  are  you  yielding  "  nothing 
but  leaves,"  but  they  are  the  brown,  withered, 
worthless  leaves,  such  as  the  wintry  winds  are 
now  whirling  through  the  forests. 

*•  Nothing  but  leaves :  the  Spirit  grieves 
Over  a  wasted  life ; 
Sin  committed  while  conscience  slept. 
Promises  made,  but  never  kept, 
Idle  words  for  earnest  deeds,  — 
Nothing  but  leaves ! 

And  shall  we  meet  the  Master  so. 

Bearing  our  withered  leaves  ? 
The  Saviour  looks  for  perfect  fruit : 
We  stand  before  him  ashamed  and  mute. 

Waiting  that  word  he  breathes,  — 
Notliing  hut  leaves! " 

Such  are  the  sad  thoughts  and  sorrowful 
self-reproaches  that  are  troubling  the  spirits  of 
many  professed  Christians  as  they  review  the 
year  now  closing.  They  admit  that  they  have 
backslidden  from  their  "  first  love,"  and  have 
borne  no  fruit  to  their  Master's  glory.  But 
the  best  repentance  for  sin  is  to  forsake  it ;  and 
the  only  amends  that  can  be  made  for  neg- 
lected duties  is  to  resume  them,  and  perform 


308  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

them  at  once.  Do  not  stop,  then,  my  brother, 
with  sighing  and  sorrowing  over  the  lost  year 
that  is  just  going  with  its  accounts  to  God. 
Lay  hold  of  the  incoming  year  by  the  fore- 
lock, and  begin  it  with  a  new  consecration  of 
yourself  to  Jesus.  Go  back  to  that  deserted 
place  of  prayer.  Put  on  the  armor  afresh,  — 
humbled,  yet  hopeful.  Seek  such  a  reconver- 
sion as  Peter  had  when  he  came  out  of  Pilate's 
garden,  weeping  but  forgiven.  Make  for  your- 
self a  "happy  new  year"  by  commencing  a 
new  life !  "  This  battle  is  lost,''  said  one  of 
his  marshals  to  Napoleon ;  "  but  there  is 
time  enough  before  sundown  to  fight  another 
and  win  it''  The  opening  year  calls  us  to 
new  resolutions,  new  hopes,  and  new  consecra- 
tions. It  has  glorious  revivals  in  store  for  us, 
if  we  will  but  resolve  —  with  God's  help  — 
to  cover  with  golden  fruit  the  boughs  that  have 
been  bearing  nothing  hut  leaves! 


HYMNS    OF    OUE    OWN    LAND. 


/^^F  all  the  hymns  born  on  this  side  of  the 

^^  Atlantic,  the  most  celebrated,  and  the 
most  perfect  in  execution,  is  Dr.  Kay  Palmer's 
"  My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee."  The  history  of 
this  exquisite  production,  which,  like  Heber's 
missionary  hymn,  was  thrown  off  "in  a  heat," 
we  have  already  published.  The  venerable 
Dr.  Muhlenberg  is  about  telling  to  the  world 
the  biography  of  his  famous  lines,  "  I  would 
not  live  alway : "  probably  they  rank  next  to 
Palmer's  in  popularity  among  our  American 
churches. 

The  first  hymn  ever  composed  by  one  of  our 
countrymen,  that  has  won  permanent  place  in 
all  our  collections,  came  from  that  "king  of 
New  England,"  Timothy  Dwight.  While  he 
was  President  of  Yale  College  he  wielded  a 
wider  intellectual  and  religious  influence  than 


310  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

any  man  of  his  day  in  the  American  pulpit. 
His  discourses  on  "Theology"  were  in  every 
minister's  study:  they  were  a  text-book  for 
students  of  divinity  while  Andover  and  Prince- 
ton were  in  their  infancy.  But  they  have 
gradually  been  supplanted,  and  few  of  our 
younger  clergymen  ever  open  the  four  formida- 
ble but  almost  obsolete  volumes.  President 
D wight  will  live  longest  in  his  one  classic 
hymn,  whose  first  verse  is  so  familiar  to 
us  all, — 

**  I  love  Thy  kingdom,  Lord, 
The  house  of  Thine  abode, 
The  Church  our  blest  Redeemer  saved 
With  his  own  precious  blood." 

It  is  a  metrical  version  of  the  one  hundred 
and  thirty-seventh  Psalm ;  and  it  contains  one 
verse  of  pathetic  sweetness,  worthy  of  Watts 
or  Cowper.  In  addressing  the  Church  of  God, 
he  passionately  exclaims,  — 

*•  For  her  my  tears  shall  fall ; 
For  her  my  prayers  ascend ; 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given, 
Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end." 

This  fine  hymn  was  born  in  the  first  year  of 


HYMNS    OF    OUR    OWN    LAND.  811 

this  century,  while  Dr.  D wight  was  at  Yale. 
His  more  ambitious  poem  of  "  Greenfield 
Hill"  is  now  forgotten,  except  in  the  families 
who  still  live  on  that  verdant  and  picturesque 
spot.  His  theological  treatises  have  climbed 
away  into  upper  shelves.  And  the  great  and 
good  Timothy  Dwight,  like  several  other  good 
men,  owes  his  main  chance  of  immortality  to 
a  score  or  two  of  lines,  which  he  could  have 
written  on  a  small  sheet  of  note-paper. 

The  classic  city  of  New  Haven  has  given 
existence  to  another  hymn,  which  Dr.  Leonard 
Bacon  says  is  "unsurpassed  in  the  English 
language,  and  as  near  perfection  as  any  unin- 
spired production  can  be."  This  is  rather  ex- 
travagant praise  of  a  composition  which  not 
one  person  in  an  hundred  has  ever  heard  of. 
But  it  is  certainly  an  exquisite  hymn  both  in 
thought  and  in  diction.  If  any  of  my  readers 
will  turn  to  the  55Tth  of  Dr.  C.  S.  Eobinson's 
"  Songs  of  the  Sanctuary,"  they  will  find  it  un- 
der the  head  of  "  Hymns  of  Repentance  and 
Reception  of  Christ."  It  opens  with  the  utter- 
ance   of  lowliest   abasement.     In  the  second 


312  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

verse,  joy  breaks  in  upon  the  penitent  from 
the  loving  countenance  and  voice  of  Jesus. 
The  third  verse  is  "a  gem  of  purest  ray 
serene."  My  readers  will  thank  me  for  giving 
these  stanzas  complete :  — 

*'  TrembKng  before  Thine  awful  throne, 
O  Lord !  in  dust  my  sins  I  own ; 
Justice  and  mercy  for  my  life 
Contend  !     Oh,  smile,  and  heal  the  strife ! 

The  Saviour  smiles !     Upon  my  soul 
New  tides  of  hope  tumultuous  roll ; 
His  voice  proclaims  my  pardon  found ; 
Seraphic  transport  wings  the  sound. 

Earth  has  a  joy  unknown  in  heaven, 
The  new-born  peace  of  sins  forgiven ! 
Tears  of  such  pure  and  deep  delight, 
Ye  angels !  never  dimmed  your  sight." 

The  thought  of  this  third  stanza  is  ex- 
panded in  three  more  verses  of  most  magnifi- 
cent imagery.  So  grand  a  hymn  ought  to  have 
an  air  adapted  to  it,  and  it  would  soon  become 
an  universal  favorite. 

The  author  was  Mr.  Augustus  L.  Hillhouse, 
one  of  that  cultured  family  from  whom  "  Hill- 
house  Avenue  "  is  named.  He  was  born  at  New 
Haven,  in  17^2,  and  died  near  Paris  twelve 


HYMNS    OF    OUR    OWN    LAND.  313 

years  ago.  While  in  France  he  composed 
this  graceful  and  melodious  hymn,  and  left  it 
as  a  legacy  of  love  to  '"  that  Name  that  is 
above  every  other." 

About  the  year  1847,  the  late  Dr.  George 
W.  Bethune,  then  pastor  of  a  church  in  Phil- 
adelphia, published  a  hymn  of  rare  beauty 
which  soon  found  its  way  into  nearly  all  the 
later  collections.  The  reigning  idea  of  this 
song  of  triumph  over  death  is  similar  to  that 
of  Dr.  Caesar  Malan's,  ^'  Non,  ce  nest  pas 
mourir,"  a  French  production,  which  has  been 
well  translated  by  Professor  R.  P.  Dunn  of 
Brown  University.  Before  Dr.  Bethune's  re- 
mains were  borne  to  their  last  resting-place  in 
Greenwood  Cemetery,  these  notes  of  victory 
were  sung :  — 

*'  It  is  not  death  to  die, 

To  leave  this  weary  road, 
And  'midst  the  brotherhood  on  high 
To  be  at  home  with  God. 

It  is  not  death  to  close 

The  eye  long  dimmed  by  tears. 
And  wake  in  glorious  repose, 

To  spend  eternal  years. 
14 


314  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

It  is  not  death  to  bear 

The  wrench  that  sets  us  free 
From  dungeon  chain,  to  breathe  the  air 

Of  boundless  liberty. 

It  is  not  death  to  fling 

Aside  this  smful  dust. 
And  rise,  on  strong,  exulting  wing, 

To  live  among  the  just. 

Jesus,  Thou  Prince  of  life  ! 

Thy  chosen  cannot  die ; 
Like  Thee,  they  conquer  in  the  strife, 

To  reign  with  Thee  on  high." 

To  many  of  our  readers  the  Eev.  Dr.  Charles 
S.  Eobinson  of  New  York  is  known  as  the 
successful  compiler  of  the  "  Songs  for  the 
Sanctuary."  But  only  a  few  sharp  eyes  may 
have  detected  his  name  appended  to  the  773d 
hymn  as  its  author.  Those  who  do  not  pos- 
sess this  volume  may  thank  me  for  inserting 
Dr.  Robinson's  sweet  hymn  entire :  — 

**  Saviour !    I  follow  on. 

Guided  by  Thee, 
Seeing  not  yet  the  hand 

That  leadeth  me ; 
Hushed  be  my  heart  and  still. 
Fear  I  no  further  ill. 
Only  to  meet  Th^  will 

My  will  shall  be. 


HYMNS    OF    OUR    OWN    LAND.  81/^ 

Riven  the  rock  for  me 

Thirst  to  relieve, 
Manna  from  heaven  falls 

Fresh  every  eve ; 
Never  a  want  severe 
Causeth  my  eye  a  tear, 
But  Thou  art  whispering  near, 

*  Only  believe ! ' 

Often  to  Marah's  brink 

Have  I  been  brought ; 
Shrinking  the  cup  to  drink, 

Help  I  have  sought ; 
And  with  the  prayer's  ascent, 
Jesus  the  branch  has  rent,  — 
Quickly  relief  he  sent, 

Sweetening  the  draught. 

Saviour !    I  long  to  walk 

Closer  with  Thee ; 
Led  by  Thy  guiding  hand, 

Ever  to  be ; 
Constantly  near  Thy  side, 
Quickened  and  purified, 
Living  for  Him  who  died 

Freely  for  me  ! " 

When  that  most  apostolic  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  Dr.  William  Augustus  Muhlenberg 
composed  his  world-known  lines,  "  I  would 
not  live  alway"  (in  1824),  it  is  said  that  he 
was  suffering  under  a  sore  heart-sorrow.     A 


316  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

spirit  of  mournfalness  over  "  life's  woes " 
breathes  through  the  poem.  But  in  later 
years  he  has  expressed  some  doubts  whether 
the  hymn  is  not  too  lugubrious  for  a  "  happy 
warrior  "  in  the  glorious  service  of  Immanuel. 
In  a  letter  now  lying  before  me,  the  sunny- 
hearted  old  man  says,  that  "  Paul's  '  to  depart 
and  be  with  Christ '  is  far  better  than  Job's 
'  I  would  not  live  alway.' " 

Like  many  other  hymns,  this  precious  pro- 
duction of  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  genius  has  suf- 
fered many  mutilations.  The  following  verse, 
which  originally  closed  the  hymn,  is  now 
omitted  from  most  of  our  books  of  metrical 
devotion :  — 

**  That  heavenly  music,  hark!  sweet  in  the  air. 
The  notes  of  the  harpers,  how  clear  ringing  there! 
And  see,  soft  unfolding  those  portals  of  gold, 
The  King,  all  arrayed  in  His  beauty  behold ! 
Oh,  give  me,  oh,  give  me  the  wings  of  a  dove, 
To  adore  Him,  be  near  Him,  enwrapt  with  His  love  I 
I  but  wait  for  the  summons,  I  list  for  the  word. 
Alleluia !    Amen  !    Evermore  with  the  Lord  !  " 

Of  one  more  American  hymn  we  must  speak 
before  closing  this  paragraph.     Its  author  was 


HYMNS    OF    OUR    OWN    LAND.  317 

my  beloved  friend  and  teacher  the  late  Dr. 
Joseph  Addison  Alexander.  He  certainly 
never  dreamed  that  it  would  find  its  way  into 
any  collection  for  public  worship  when  he  threw 
it  off,  one  evening,  rapidly  from  his  versatile 
pen.  The  day  after  its  composition  he  mailed 
it  to  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  then  the  editor  of  the  "  Sun 
day  School  Journal."  The  lines  were  published 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Doomed  Man,"  and 
they  describe  with  solemn  and  terrible  energy 
the  fate  of  a  sinner  who  has  ''  crossed  the 
hidden  boundary  between  God's  patience  and 
His  wrath."  These  fearful  lines  are  not  so 
much  a  hymn  as  a  thrilling  appeal  to  the 
impenitent,  in  metre.  They  were  at  first  circu- 
lated in  small  hand-bills  through  prayer- 
meetings,  in  seasons  of  revival.  They  went 
the  rounds  of  religious  journals,  and  finally 
lodged  in  Dr.  Robinson's  Hymn-book,  and  in 
one  or  two  others.  As  originally  written,  the 
opening  verse  was  — 

*'  There  is  a  time,  we  know  not  when, 
A  point,  we  know  not  where, 
That  marks  the  destiny  of  men 
To  glory,  or  despair." 


318  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

If  Hillhoiise's   hymn   is   a   prelude  to   the 
minstrelsy  of  heaven,  these  solemn  lines  of 
Alexander  may  be  styled  the  dirge  of  a  lost^ 
soul  against  whom  the  gates  of  heaven   are 
closed   for   ever ! 


BEFOEE  THE  JUDGMENT-SEAT. 


"  T  T  TE  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment 
^^  seat  of  Christ."  The  colossal  di- 
mensions of  that  assemblage  utterly  stagger 
me.  I  try  to  imagine  all  the  present  popula- 
tion of  the  American  republic  —  forty  millions 
strong  —  convened  in  one  mass  meeting.  To 
them  I  add  all  the  existing  peoples  on  the 
globe.  Then  I  begin  to  add  the  generations 
of  the  dead.  But  the  tremendous  total  breaks 
me  down.  There  is  not  room  in  one  little 
finite  mind  to  put  the  bare  idea.  But  there  is 
room  in  God's  mind ;  and  there  will  be  room 
enough  too  for  them  all  "  before  the  judgment- 
seat  of  Christ."  He  who  telleth  all  the  stars 
of  heaven  by  name  will  recognize  every  single 
individual  so  closely  that  not  even  a  beggar- 
child  will  be  missed.     Each  person  will  stand 


320  TH0UGHT-HI7ES. 

as  distinct  and  alone  before  the  eye  of  the 
Judge  as  Warren  Hastings  stood  before  the 
tribunal  of  the  House  of  Lords.  No  one  must 
imagine  that  he  will  be  "  lost  in  the  crowd," 
or  escape  that  flame-bright  eye. 

Upon  that  throne  of  judgment,  Jesus  shall 
sit ;  for  the  Father  hath  committed  all  judg- 
ment to  the  Son  of  Man.  The  despised  Naza- 
rene  shall  then  come  in  his  glory  to  that  great 
white  throne,  and  all  his  holy  angels  with 
him.  Is  it  a  violent  supposition  that  he  will 
then  bear  the  marks  of  the  nails  and  the  spear 
of  Calvary  on  his  glorified  form  ?  We  trow 
not.  Sinners  shall  then  look  upon  Him  whom 
they  have  pierced^  and  shall  wail  because  of 
him.  The  heirs  of  glory  shall  see  in  those 
scars  of  the  cross  their  title  to  an  everlasting 
inheritance.  It  will  be  upon  the  brow  that 
once  wore  the  crown  of  thorns  that  the  impe- 
rial diadems  will  then  be  placed.  John  in  his 
vision  saw  "  on  His  head  many  crowns." 

Before  that  dazzling  tribunal,  we  are  told 
that  "  the  books  shall  be  opened,"  and  that 
every  man  will  be  judged  out  of  those  things 


BEFORE    THE    JUDGMENT  SEAT.  321 

which   are  written  in  the  books,  according  to 
his    works.      The    wonder    grows.      All   the 
myriad   millions    of  the  globe  in  one  assem- 
blage !     And  every  act  of  all  these  innumer- 
able myriads  brought  out,  and  weighed,  and 
passed  upon  with  the  most  infallible  equity ! 
Yet  we  must  accept  this  statement,  or  reject 
the  whole  revelation.     For  we  are  distinctly 
told  that  God    "will    bring  every  work  into 
judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  w4iether  it 
be  good  or  evil."     Fasten  your  mind  to  that 
fact,  my  friend.     Just  consider  that  you  will 
be  called  to  give  account  for  every  mercy  and 
every  moment,   every  talent  and   every  trust, 
for  every  Sabbath  and  every  sermon,  for  every 
line  and  letter  of  God's  law  and  God's  love. 
For   all  these    the    Omniscient    Judge    will 
"reckon  with   you."     And   for  nothing  may 
you  expect  a  closer  and  more  searching  in- 
quiry than  for  your  use  or  abuse  of  your  influ- 
ence.    And  suppose  that  your  influence  may 
have  thrown  some  fellow-creature  ofl"  of  the 
track  that  leads  to  heaven !    Are  you  sure  that 
you   will  be  admitted  to  the  realms  of  bliss 

14* 


322  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

from  which  you  have  helped  to  keep  another 
out  1  Think  about  this  a  moment  before  you 
sing  again  those  self-assuring  lines  about 
"  reading  your  title  clear  to  mansions  in  the 
Bkies."  It  will  certainly  require  an  infinite 
wisdom  in  the  Supreme  Judge  to  unravel  the 
tangled  web  of  daily  life  in  which  so  many 
good  men  have  been  instrumental  in  producing 
so  many  bad  acts  of  their  fellow-creatures. 
Will  all  these  sins  of  God's  people  which  mis- 
led them  into  iniquity  go  entirely  unpunished  ] 
I  tremble  at  the  very  question. 

**  There's  pity  for  the  hardened  knave, 
And  mercy  for  the  thief  that  stole ; 
But  God  in  justice  ne'er  forgave 
The  murder  of  a  human  soul." 

At  that  august  judgment-seat  every  one  will 
be  dealt  with  in  the  impartial  spirit  of  a  justice 
that  cannot  err  a  hair's  breadth.  There  can  be 
no  bribery  in  that  court.  No  titled  sinner  will 
reap  any  favors  from  his  rank.  No  cunning 
sinner  can  take  advantage  of  the  technicalities 
of  law.  No  appeal  can  be  made  to  a  higher 
tribunal.    No  wily  advocate  can  befog  the  case, 


BEFORE    THE    JUDGMENT-SEAT.  323 

or  move  for  an  arrest  of  judgment.     For  once 
the  universe  will  behold  a  tribunal  on  which 
infinite  justice  will  preside,  and  dispense  de 
cisions  with  a  spirit  of  ineffable  love. 

We  learn  beforehand  that,  in  that  Supreme 
Court,  those  who  "  knew  their  Master's  will 
and  did  it  not "  shall  be  condemned  to  "  many 
stripes."  Oh  !  it  will  be  a  terrible  thing  to  go 
up  to  that  judgment-seat  of  Christ  from  before 
some  pulpits,  and  out  of  some  communities  ! 
It  will  certainly  fare  better  with  the  poor 
wretch  who  stumbled  into  eternity  from  the 
heathenish  haunts  of  Sodom,  than  with  the 
cultured  sinner  who  trampled  on  ten  thou- 
sand Gospel  truths  in  his  guilty  road  to  the 
judgment-seat.  To  topple  over  into  hell  from 
the  very  summit  of  the  Hill  of  Zion  will  be  a 
frightful  fall.  If  faithful  pastors  ever  shudder 
at  that  judgment-seat,  it  will  be  when  they 
see  what  is  becoming  of  some  of  their  own 
congregations.  The  very  people  who  once 
melted  and  wept  under  revival  sermons  may 
then  be  calling  upon  the  rocks  and  mountains 
to  fall  on  them,  and  hide  them  from  the  wvwih 


324  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

of  the  rejected  Lamb.  Perhaps  the  reader 
of  this  paragraph  may  be  one  of  those  very 
people. 

There  is  another  thought  which  always 
weaves  itself  into  every  conception  I  ever 
form  of  the  judgment  scene.  And  that  is 
the  excruciating  separations  which  that  day 
will  make.  All  the  heart-breaking  farewells 
of  earth  melt  into  nothing  when  compared 
with  those  leave-takings  for  an  endless  eter- 
nity. Who  dares  to  conceive  of  them  ]  How 
well  I  remember  the  shudder  with  which,  in 
early  childhood,  I  used  to  listen  to  that  home- 
ly but  thrilling  hymn  :  — 

"  Oh !  there  will  be  parting,  parting,  parting  — 

At  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ, 
Brothers  and  sisters  there  will  part, 
Parents  and  children  there  will  part, 

Will  part  to  meet  no  more ! " 

If  we  would  but  run  that  dividing  line  — 
even  in  our  imaginations  —  more  often  now, 
it  would  make  us  more  tenderly  faithful  to 
the  souls  of  those  we  love.  God  save  us 
from  the  agony  of  breaking  away  from  our 
own  children  then  —  and  for  ever ! 


BEFORE    THE    JUDGMENT-SEAT.  325 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  thoughts  which 
crowd  into  my  mind  as  I  sit  to-night  alone, 
and  let  the  light  of  that  tremendous  judgment 
scene  break  in  upon  me  It  is  an  awful  mys- 
tery; but  through  the  mystery  I  see  clearly 
a  righteous  Saviour  on  his  throne,  a  heaven 
of  glory,  a  hell  of  torment,  —  and  every 
single  human  being  bound  either  to  the  one  or 
to  the  other.  With  the  "  fierce  light "  of  that 
judgment-seat  beating  upon  our  path,  let  us 
all  enter  upon  a  year  that  brings  us  the  nearer 
towards  it. 


HIGHEE! 


T  T  THAT  a  bugle-call  the  veteran  Apostle 
^  ^  sounded  in  the  ears  of  his  younger 
brethren  at  Colosse  when  he  exclaimed,  "  If 
ye,  then,  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things 
which  are  above."  In  whatever  way  we  ap- 
ply these  words,  whether  as  meaning  a  prepa 
ration  for  heaven,  or  a  clearer  view  of  heaven, 
or  heavenly-mindedness,  they  still  breathe  the 
same  spirit  of  aspiration.  Jesus  had  delivered 
Paul's  brethren  from  the  sepulchre  of  sin  and 
corruption.  They  had  risen  with  Christ! 
Now,  instead  of  sitting  in  the  gates  of  the 
tomb,  breathing  the  chill,  dreary  atmosphere 
of  the  charnel-house,  Paul  exhorts  them  to 
cast  away  their  grave-clothes,  and  to  live  as 
Christ's  freemen,  and  as  the  happy  heirs  to  a 
magnificent  inheritance.  Look  higher !  —  live 
higher!      These  two  words  seem  to  condense 


HIGHER !  y27 

the  grand  old  man's  inspiring  call  to  his 
fellow-soldiers  in  the  warfare  for  Christ. 

There  is  the  greatest  difference  in  the  world 
between  the  "  high  look  "  of  sinful  pride  and 
the  high  look  which  every  blood-bought  heir 
of  glory  should  fix  on  his  everlasting  inheri- 
tance. It  is  not  only  the  privilege,  but  the 
duty^  of  every  converted  soul  to  realize  to  the 
utmost,  and  to  enjoy,  the  infinite  blessings 
which  flow  from  a  union  with  Jesus.  If 
"  Christ  liveth  in  me,"  I  ought  to  be  a  living 
man,  —  a  rich  man,  —  a  cheerful,  athletic  man, 
—  a  holy  and  a  happy  man.  I  ought  to  enjoy 
the  open  vision  of  Jesus  as  my  Prophet,  my 
Priest,  and  my  King.  I  ought  to  be  strength- 
ened with  all  might  in  the  inner  man,  with 
long-suffering  and  joyfulness.  I  ought  to  be 
filled  with  the  Spirit,  and  to  rejoice  with  a  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 

Do  the  majority  of  God's  people  thus 
"  seek  the  things  that  are  above,'"  and  live  in 
the  higher  atmosphere  of  perpetual  fellowship 
with  Christ?  We  fear  not.  Thousands  in 
our  churches  are  barely  alive.     Their  pulse  is 


328  THOUGHT- HIVES. 

feeble.  Their  joys  are  few.  Their  assurance 
of  hope  is  so  scanty  that  they  can  only  articu- 
late, with  a  painful  hesitation,  "  Well,  I  hope 
that  I  am  a  Christian.  I  think  I  am  con- 
verted. If  I  can  only  get  inside  of  the  gate 
of  heaven  I  shall  be  satisfied."  There  is  no 
muscle  in  their  faith,  no  power  in  their  prayer, 
no  ring  in  their  devotions,  no  inspiration  in 
their  example.  They  see  through  a  glass 
darkly,  and  the  clouds  run  low  in  their  spirit 
ual  skies. 

All  this  poor,  meagre  experience  is  better 
than  —  something  worse.  It  is  better  than 
sheer  impenitence,  or  rank  unbelief.  A  sick 
child  is  better  than  a  dead  child ;  but  to  make 
a  sick  child  well  is  the  best  of  all.  What, 
then,  shall  these  halting,  feeble,  doubting,  and 
almost  useless  professors  do?  Look  down? 
Lie  down?  Stay  down?  No  !  It  is  the  imme- 
diate duty  of  every  one  who  has  been  born  into 
Christ  to  seek  the  very  highest  and  holiest  and 
happiest  life  which  Divine  grace  can  impart  to 
them.  Just  what  happened  to  the  disciples 
when  they  were  endowed   with  the  "  power 


HIGHER  !  329 

from  on  high  "  may,  in  no  small  measure,  be 
the  experience  of  every  Christian  in  these 
days  who  will  seek  a  fresh  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  make  a  complete  consecra- 
tion of  himself  to  his  Redeemer.  What  a  dif- 
ferent man  Peter  is  in  the  "  Acts  of  the 
Apostles"  from  the  half-finished,  crude,  and 
inconstant  Peter  in  the  Book  of  John  !  No 
more  denials  of  his  Master  now !  No  more 
vain  boastings  and  cowardly  lies!  Peter  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  is  as  superior  to  Peter  in 
Pilate's  hall  as  a  stalwart  man  is  superior  to 
a  puny,  stumbling  child.  He  had  now  risen 
with  Christ,  and  into  Christ ;  he  had  been  bap- 
tized into  a  clearer  illumination  and  a  more 
glorious  possession  of  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  We  never  hear  of  his  ignominious 
fall  again.  He  has  climbed  into  the  higher 
life  of  holy  union  with  his  Lord. 

Something  similar  to  this  has  been  the 
experience  of  tens  of  thousands  of  God's 
people.  They  have  come  to  Jesus  on  their 
knees,  and  sought  a  new  baptism.  They  have 
begun  to  clear  out  the  sins  that  monopolized 


330  THOUGHT-HIYES. 

all  the  house-room  in  the  heart.  They  have 
confessed  their  guiltiness  in  dragging  out  such 
a  half-dead,  existence.  They  have  sought  a 
reconversion,  a  new  quickening  from  on  high. 
New  light  has  burst  in  upon  them.  New  joys 
have  been  awakened.  They  have  put  on 
Christ,  and  are  arrayed  in  a  robe  of  spiritual 
beauty  that  is  "  white  and  glistening."  In 
the  ecstasy  of  this  fresh  consecration  they  can 
sing  with  Charles  Wesley,  — 

♦'  Thou,  O  Clirist,  art  all  I  want ; 
More  than  all  in  Tliee  Ijind?'' 

What  different  men  and  women  they  are  in 
the  Church  of  Jesus  !  How  differently  they 
pray !  And  with  what  spiritual  power  they 
approach  the  unconverted,  and  persuade  them 
to  come  to  the  cross ! 

Payson  of  Portland  had  such  an  experience 
as  this.  The  great  President  Edwards  tells 
us,  that,  after  reading  a  certain  passage  in 
God's  Word,  he  had  a  fresh  baptism  from 
above,  and  "  there  came  into  his  soul,  and 
was  diffused  through  it,  a  new  sense  of  the 


higher!  331 

glory  of  the  Divine  Being."  "From  that 
time,"  he  says,  "  /  began  to  have  a  neio  idea 
of  Christ,  and  of  the  work  of  redemption, 
and  the  glorious  way  of  salvation  by  him.  I 
had  a  view,  that  was  extraordinary,  of  the 
glory  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  his  wonder- 
ful grace."  Under  this  celestial  baptism,  he 
tells  us  that  he  was  in  a  flood  of  tears,  and 
wept  aloud  for  joy  ! 

Now  this  is  the  true  "  higher  life,''  about 
which  so  many  crude  and  extravagant  things 
have  been  written  by  men  of  more  enthusiasm 
than  theological  accuracy.  What  Payson, 
Edwards,  Eutherford,  and  Wesley  felt,  we 
may  feel  in  our  humbler  measure.  Every 
child  of  Christ  should  covet  it  intensely.  This, 
too,  is  what  our  churches  need  in  this  day  of 
apathy  and  self-indulgence  and  barrenness. 
We  need  the  new  consecration  unto  Christ, 
and  the  new  baptism  into  Christ.  An  ungodly 
world  will  never  be  converted  by  men  and 
women  who  are  barely  gasping  for  life  them- 
selves.    Brother!  sister!   get  a  new  hold  on 


332  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Christ  if  you  would  draw  sinners  from  the  pit ! 
Let  your  battle-song  be,  — 

**  I  have  done  at  length  with  trifling : 
Henceforth,  O  thou  soul  of  mine  ! 
Thou  must  take  up  sword  and  gauntlet, 

-Waging  warfare  most  Divine ! 
I^Oh,  how  many  a  glorious  record 

Had  the  angels  of  me  kept, 
^Had  I  done  instead  of  doubted, 
Had  I  ran  instead  of  crept ! " 


A    SABBATH    MOENING    IN    GEEEN- 
WOOD. 


^  I  ^HEEE  is  but  one  Greenwood  in  the 
-*■  world.  It  has  no  peer  among  the  ceme- 
teries of  Europe.  "  Kensal  Green,"  near  Lon- 
don, is  mainly  interesting  from  its  containing 
the  ashes  of  several  modern  men  of  genius, 
like  Hood,  Jerrold,  and  Thackeray.  Pere  la 
Chaise  is  a  crowded  huddle  of  marbles,  with- 
out order  or  comeliness.  The  charm  of  plain, 
unornamented  "  Grange  Cemetery  "  all  centres 
around  that  spot  where  Chalmers  and  Hugh 
Miller  slumber.  Among  American  burial- 
places  Greenwood  fairly  bears  away  the  crown. 
"  We  have  seen  nothing  yet  like  this,"  said 
two  of  the  London  delegates  to  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance,  as  they  sat  with  us,  at  a  rich 
October  sunset  hour,  on  the  brow  of  "Battle 
Hill,"  and  gazed  over  the  wonderful  panorama. 
They  ranked  that  view  next  to  Niagara. 


334  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

The  true  time  to  see  Greenwood  is  when 
its  thousands  of  dogwood  trees  are  blossom- 
ing in  all  their  glory.  The  creamy  white  con- 
trasts with  the  tender  green  of  opening  leaves, 
as  the  white  sea-foam  flashes  amid  the  emerald 
waters  in  a  driving  gale. 

At  every  turn  there  is  a  new  apocalypse  of 
beauty.  One  would  expect  to  find  such  a  laby- 
rinth of  loveliness  crowded  with  visitants  ;  but 
Prospect  Park  is  filled  every  day  with  throngs 
who  go  there  for  the  hundredth  time,  while  the 
matchless  avenues  of  Greenwood  show  only 
"  here  and  there  a  traveller."  So  true  is  it  that 
the  mass  of  mankind  care  less  to  see  than  to 
be  seen. 

Never  did  we  behold  Greenwood  on  a  Sab- 
bath morning  until  lately  ;  and  never  before  did 
we  so  feel  its  bewitching,  subduing,  and  tran- 
quillizing spell.  We  went  at  an  early  hour,  to 
stand  beside  the  open  grave  of  a  friend's  only 
and  beloved  son,  whose  "  purposes  were  brok- 
en off"  by  sudden  death.  It  seemed  almost 
a  mockery  to  the  heart-stricken  parents,  that 
the  sun  beamed   so   brightly   and   the   birds 


A    SABBATH    MORNING    IN    GREENWOOD.      335 

caroLed  their  morning  songs  so  blithely  among 
the  trees. 

As  we  rode  under  the  gateway  to  the  ceme- 
tery, on  the  morning  of  a  day  that  was  a 
perfect  "bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky,"  we 
seemed  to  have  entered  another  world.  It 
was  as  when,  of  old,  the  women  and  the  two 
disciples  came  "  early  to  the  sepulchre."  The 
city  of  the  living  was  left  behind.  The  city 
of  the  dead  greeted  us  to  its  voiceless  streets. 
But  no  gloom  clouded  the  pure  golden  air. 
No  wails  smote  upon  our  ears.  Peace,  joy, 
praise,  seemed  to  fill  the  whole  leafy  temple, 
as  the  strains  of  an  organ  fill  the  vaulted 
arches  of  a  cathedral.  It  seemed  as  if  Green- 
wood, with  its  congregation  one  hundred  thou- 
sand strong,  was  breaking  out  into  its  morn- 
ing hymn,  — 

*•  Welcome,  sweet  day  of  rest, 
That  saw  the  Lord  arise ! " 

Here,  too,  they  are  keeping  their  Sabbath,  as 
aforetime !  Here  the  departed  pastors  are 
mingling  with  their  flocks,  as  they  once  did  in 
yonder  sanctuaries.     Here  is  gathered  the  vast 


336  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

Sabbath  school  of  forty  thousand  children,  all 
clothed  in  white  raiment.  I  see  them  not ;  yet 
they  are  beside  me  and  around  me.  My  own 
precious  boy  is  among  them.  From  his  lips  I 
seem  to  catch  the  familiar  strain  of  his  favorite 
child-hymn,  — 

'*  Jesus  loves  me,  he  who  died 
Heaven's  gate  to  open  wide. 
He  has  washed  away  my  sin, 
And  bade  his  httle  child  come  in." 

Other  children,  in  neighboring  plots  of 
green  earth,  take  up  the  strain.  No  lessons 
are  repeated  here  this  morning.  No  sermons 
are  delivered  in  this  vast  sanctuary.  No  pro- 
fane pride  flaunts  its  fineries  and  parades  its 
silk  and  velvet  in  this  congregation.  No  eru- 
dition sets  the  audience  agape  with  wonder. 
But  from  the  grassy  homes  in  which  the  little 
children  lie,  and  from  the  statelier  vaults  of 
marble  and  granite,  from  the  heights  of 
"  Ocean  Hill,"  and  from  beside  the  placid 
*'  Sylvan  Water,"  there  chimes  forth  one  un- 
broken song  of  morning  adoration  to  the  Con- 
queror of  the  grave,  — 


A    SABBATH    MORNING    IN    GREENWOOD.      337 

**  Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day, 
Our  triumphant,  holy  day. 
Loud  the  song  of  victory  raise ; 
Shout  our  great  Redeemer's  praise." 

And  SO  we  pass  along  through  the  enchant- 
ing avenues  and  paths,  which  were  to  us  but 
so  many  aisles  in  one  beautiful  temple.  In 
one  avenue  we  passed  the  tombs  of  some  of 
our  "  spiritual  children,"  who  had  been  born 
unto  us  in  the  Gospel.  They  did  not  recog- 
nize their  old  pastor  as  he  walked  by.  In 
another  plot  we  discovered  the  name  of  a  dear 
friend,  whose  iying-bed  we  had  attended.  She 
needed  no  moie  kind  words  of  consolation. 
The  last  tear  was  dry. 

On  Forest  Ridge,  beneath  a  massive  stone 
cross,  our  old  friend  and  benefactor,  Dr.  Ed- 
ward Eobinson,  has  found  his  sepulchre.  No 
more  does  he  explore  the  streets  or  ruins  of 
Jerusalem :  he  has  entered  that  new  Jerusa- 
lem, which  is  as  a  "  bride  adorned  for  her  hus- 
band." Over  the  hill  from  his  tomb  we  come 
to  the  resting-place  of  two  sisters,  one  of 
whom  had   r"mbered  one  hundred   years  op 


338  THOUGHT-HIVES. 

earth,  and  the  other  one  hundred  and  seven ! 
Poor  old  pilgrims,  were  they  not  wearied  out 
and  glad  to  lie  down  and  sleep  together? 

On  the  green  slope  beside  Crescent  Water 
sleeps  Bethune.  The  marble  tablet  at  the 
gate  bears  his  sweet,  joyful  line,  "  It  is  not 
death  to  die."  My  mind  runs  back  to  that 
Sabbath  in  Florence  when  the  old  home-sick 
pastor  bade  adieu  to  earth,  to  join  "  the 
brotherhood  on  high."  We  wander  on  fur- 
ther. Here,  on  a  lofty  knoll,  is  a  superb 
monument,  bearing  the  marble  effigy  of  the 
sinking  steamer  "  Arctic,"  and  the  names  of 
several  who  went  down  with  her  into  the  deep. 
Voices  seem  to  be  whispering  in  the  air* 
"  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were 
in  it ;  "  "  there  shall  be  no  more  sea  !  " 

And  so,  as  we  wander  on,  every  aisle  of 
this  Greenwood  sanctuary  was  vocal  to  the 
inner  ear.  The  hour  for  worship  with  the 
living  was  drawing  near,  and  we  turned  home- 
ward. For  one  moment  we  halted  in  the  little 
precious  plot  of  ground,  where  Calverley,  the 
sculptor,  has  carved  the  features  of  a  sunny 


A    SABBATH    MORNING    IN    GREENWOOD.      339 

child-face,  which  we  hope  yet  to  meet  in 
Heaven.  Under  it  is  written,  in  his  broken 
childish  speech,  his  last  Sunday-school  text . 
"  Hide  me  under  de  sadow  of  dy  wing." 

A  flo-wering  dogwood  tree  stands  beside  the 
spot,  white  with  a  thousand  blossoms.  Beau- 
tiful sentinel  of  the  tomb  !  thy  blossoms  shall 
soon  fall  to  the  ground  like  the  hopes  that  are 
buried  here  !  But  from  the  Sabbath  air  of 
heaven  there  floats  down  to  my  ear  the  celes- 
tial message  :  "  They  are  without  fault  before 
the  throne  of  God.  They  see  His  face  and 
His  name  is  written  on  their  foreheads  !  " 


A    SONG    OF    PEACE. 


\  T  TE  close  these  pages  with  the  following 
^  '  sweet  song  of  peace.  It  issued  first 
from  the  devout  heart  of  one  of  God's  suffer- 
ing children.  Mrs.  Jane  Crewdson  of  Lan- 
cashire, England,  a  member  of  the  Orthodox 
branch  of  the  "  Society  of  Friends,"  sang  this 
heart-song  from  a  chamber  of  painful  sick- 
ness. She  kissed  the  rod  of  chastisement 
which  was  laid  upon  her,  and  found  that,  like 
Jonathan's  "  rod,"  it  had  the  "  taste  of  the 
honey  "  upon  it.  Many  who  have  never  seen 
them  before  will  doubtless  welcome  them 
here  ;  and  will  read  them  the  more  often  as 
they  draw  nearer  to  the  "  Better  Country." 

THE  LITTLE  WHILE. 

Oh  for  the  peace  which  floweth  as  a  river, 
Making  life's  desert  places  bloom  and  smile ; 

Oh  for  the  faith  to  grasp  heaven's  bright  "  for  ever," 
Amid  the  shadowV  of  earth's  **  little  while  " ! 


A    SONG    OF    PEACE.  341 

"  A  little  while,"  for  patient  vigil  keeping. 
To  face  the  stern,  to  wrestle  with  the  strong ; 

**  A  little  while,"  to  sow  the  seed  with  weeping. 
Then  bind  the  sheaves  and  sing  the  harvest  song ; 

**  A  little  while,"  to  wear  the  weeds  of  sadness. 
To  pace,  with  weary  step,  through  miry  ways ; 

Then  to  pour  forth  the  fragrant  oil  of  gladness. 
And  clasp  the  girdle  round  the  robe  of  praise. 

*'  A  little  while,"  'midst  shadow  and  illusions. 
To  strive  by  faith  love's  mysteries  to  spell ; 

Then  read  each  dark  enigma's  bright  solution ; 

Then  hail  sight's  verdict,  "  He  doeth  all  things  well." 

*'  A  little  while,"  the  earthen  pitcher  taking 
To  wayside  brooks,  from  far-off  fountains  fed ; 

Then  the  cool  lip  its  thirst  for  ever  slaking. 
Beside  the  fulness  of  the  Fountain-head. 

**  A  little  while,"  to  keep  the  oil  from  failing, 
**  A  little  while  "  faith's  flickering  lamp  to  trim ; 

And  then  the  Bridegroom's  coming  footstep  hailing. 
To  haste  to  meet  Hnn  with  the  bridal  hymn. 

And  He,  who  is  Himself  the  Gift  and  Giver, 

'The  future  glory  and  the  present  smile, 
With  the  bright  promise  of  the  glad  "  for  ever  " 
Will  light  the  shadows  of  the  "  little  while." 


Oambridge:  Press  of  John  WIIbod  and  Son. 


530  Broadway,  New- York. 


<<|o>o     NEW  ^  BOOKS.     <<o\^ 


NOBODY.     A   story  by  the  author  of   the  "Wide,  Wide 
World."     i2mo $1.75 

"Her  style  is  felicitous,  her  humor  delicate,  her  pathos  sincere.  If  we  musf 
have  novels,  commend  us  to  such  a  story  as  "Nobody,"  which  leaves  in  the  lips 
of  the  reader  a  taste  of  sweetness,  and  upon  his  breath  an  odor  of  fragrance." 
^-Morning  Star. 

UNIFORM   WITH   AND   BY  THE   SAME  AUTHOR. 

t.  MY  DESIRE.     A  Story.     lamo $1.75 

8.  THE  END  OF  A  COIL.    A  Story.     i2mo x.75 

3.  THE  LETTER  OF  CREDIT.    A  Story.     i2mo r 1.75 

BY   THE    SAME   AUTHOR. 


The  Say  and  Do  Series.    6  vols.  $7.50 
Story  of  Small  Beginnings.     4 

vols 5.00 

'  King's  People.     5  vols 7.00 

Stories  of  Vinegar  Hill.    3  vols..  3.00 


Ellen  Montgomery's    BookshelC 

5  vols s.oo 

THE  OLD  HELMET 2.25 

MELBOURNE  HOUSE 2.00 

Pine  Needles 1.50 


Fifteen;   or,   Lydia's   Happenings.     By  Mrs.  Jennie  M. 
Drinkwater  Conklin.     i2mo ,,,,,..,   I.50 


BY  THE   SAME  AUTHOR. 


Tessa   Wadsworth's   Discipline.  I    Rue's  Helps,     izmo.  ...it 1.50 

X2mo $1.50    I    Electa.     A  Story.     i2mo 1.50 

Under  the  Shield.    A  Tale.    By  M,  E.  Winchester.    i2mo.   1.50 


The"  Red  and  White.    An  Historical  Tale.    By  Emily  Sarah 
Holt.      i2ino 1.50 

At  Ye  Grene  Griffin.     By  Emily  Sarah  Holt.     i6mo i.oo 

BY   THE   SAME   AUTHOR. 


I  soul  t  Barry.     i2mo $1.50 

Robin  Tremayne.     i2mo i. 50 

The  Well  in  the  Desert.     i6mo. .   1.25 

Ashcliffe  Hall.     i6mo 1.25 

Verena.     A  Tale.     i2mo 1.50 

The  White  Rose  of  Langley.  12010  1.50 

Imogeji.    i2mo 1.50 

Clare  Avery.     i2mo 1.50 


Lettice  Eden.     i2mo $1. 50 

For  the  Master's  Sake.    i6mo ....  i.oo 

Margery's  Son.     i2mo 1.50 

Lady  Sybil's  Choice.     i2mo 1.50 

The  Maiden's  Lodge.     12010 i.  25 

Earl  Hubert's  Daughter.    i2nio..  1.50 

Joyce  Morrell's  Harvest.   i2mo. .  1.50 


De»iima's   Promise.     By  Agnes  Giberne 1.25 

Twilight    Talks ;    or,   Early  Lessons   on  Things  about  us. 
By  Agnes  Giberne.     i6mo 75 

Jacob   Witherby;    or,  The  Need  of  Patience.     By  Agnes 
Giberne.      i6mo 60 

BY   THE    SAME  AUTHOR. 


The  World's  Foundations  ;  or,  Geology  for  Beginners.     Illus.     izmo i 

Sweetbriar ;  or,  Doings  in  Priorsthorpe  Manor.     12010 i 

Through  the  Linn.    i6mo i 

Aimee.  ATaleofJamesIL  i6mo.$i.5o 
The  Day  Star;  or,  Gospel  Stories.  1.25 

The  Curate's  Home.     i6mo 1.25 

Floss  Silverthome.     i6mo 1.25 


Coitlyng  Castle.    i6mo i 

Muriel  Bertram.     i6mo i 

The  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars.  i2mo.  i 
Duties  and  Duties.     i6mo i 


Nearer  to  Jesus.  Memorials  of  Robert  Walter  Fergus. 
By  his  mother.  With  an  introduction  by  Rev.  J.  Oswald 
Dykes,  D.  D 75 


Little    Bullets   and    Seven    Perils    Passed    by   A.  L.  O.  E. 
i6mo.     Illustrated i-<^' 


The  Wondrous  Sickle.     By  A.  L.  O.  E.     i6mo 75 

Cared  For.     By  C.  E.  Bowen.     i8mo 50 

The   Orphan  "Wanderers.     Containing  "Cared  For"  and 
"  How  a  Farthing  made  a  Fortune."     lUus.      i6mo i.oo 

Heroic   Adventure.     Chapters  in  recent  Exploration   and 
Discovery.     Illustrated.     i2mo 

Only  a  Cousin.     By  Catharine  Shaw 1.25 

Lonely  Jack  and  his  Friend,     By  Emily  Brodie 1.25 

Seeketh  Not  Her  Own.     By  M.  Sitwell 1.25 

Cripple  Jess,  the  Hop-Picker's  Daughter i.oc 

Jill  and  Jack.     A  Story  of  To-Day i.oo 

A  Little  Wild   Flower 60 

Bennie,  the   King's  Little   Servant 50 

The  Story  of  a  Shell.     By  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Macduff,  D.  D. 

Rex  and  Regina.     By  Mrs.  Marshall 1.50 

BY   THE    SAME   AUTHOR. 
Dew  Drops  and  Diamonds $1.50     ,    The  Primrose  Series.     6  vols 3.00 


Stories  of  Cathedral  Cities 1.50 

Ruby  and  Pearl 1.25 

Framilode  Hall 50 

Stellafont  Abbey 1.00 

Between  the  Cliffs i.oo 


The  Violet  and  Lily  Series.  6  vols.  3.00 

Chip  of  the  Old  Block 50 

Little  Brothers  and  Sisters 1.25 

Matthew   Frost i.oo 


BITS    FROM    BLINKBONNY;    or,  Bell  o' the  Manse. 
i2mo.     6  illustrations 1. 50 

THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  HOUSE;  or,  Lessons  on  Acts. 
New  Edition.     i2mo.     (In  Dec.) .  •    1.50 

THE  HUMAN  MIND.    A  Treatise  on  Mental  Philosophy. 
By  Edward  John  Hamilton,  D.  D.     8vo 3.00 

3 


MOSES  AND  THE    PROPHETS.     A  Review  of  Rob- 

ertson  Smith  and  Kueh^n.     By  Professor  Green,  of  Prince- 
ton.    i2mo 1.50 

GOD'S   LIGHT   ON    DARK    CLOUDS.     By  Theodore 
L.  Cuyler,  D.  D.     Very  neat.     Limp , .     .75 

BY    THE    SAME    AUTHOR. 


From  the  Nile  to  Norway.  .$1.50 
Thought  Hives.  With  Portrait.  1.50 
Pointed  Papers.     i2mo 1.50 


The  Empty  Crib.    24mo.    Gilt,  i.oo 

Stray  Arrows.     i8mo 60 

Cedar  Christian.     iSmo 75 


Hugh  Miller's  Works. 

The  12  volumes  in  6.     Neat  cloth 9.00 

"  Was  there  ever  a  more  delightful  style  than  that  in  which  his  works  are 
written?  His  essays  wed  the  elegance  of  Addison  with  the  strength  of  Carlyle." 
^Rev.  Dr.  W.  M.  Taylor. 

-*- 

GLEAMS  FROM  THE  SICK  CHAMBER.     Macduff.     .75 

MANIFESTO   OF  THE    KING.     An  Exposition  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.     By  Rev.  J.  Oswald  Dykes,  D.D. .  .   2.0c 

SERMONS.     By  J.  Oswald  Dykes,  D.  D.      i2mo 1.50 

COVENANT  NAMES  AND  PRIVILEGES.    A  series 
of  Discourses.    By  the  Rev.  Richard  Newton,  D.  D.   Portrait.   1.50 

BY   THE   SAME   AUTHOR. 

The  Jewel  Case.    6  vols 7- 5° 

The  Wonder  Case.    6  vols 7-5° 

Rays  from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 125 

The  King  in  His  Beauty 1-25 

Pebbles  from  the  Brook 1.25 

4 


New  and  Cheap  Editions. 
-*— 

MORNING  BY  MORNING.  Daily  Readings.  By  Rev. 
C.  H.  Spurgeon.     i2mo $i.oo 

"  We  have  carefully  read  this  book,  and  we  say,  advisedly,  that  we  know  not 
where  to  look  for  another  such  store  of  rich  experimental  religion  within  the  same 
compass." — Freematt. 

EVENING  BY  EVENING  ;  or,  Readings  at  Eventide. 
By  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon.     i2mo i.oo 

TYPES  AND  EMBLEMS.  By  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 
i2mo i-<^o 

JOHN  PLOUGHMAN'S  TALK.  By  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon.      i6mo 75 

GLEANINGS  AMONG  THE  SHEAVES.  By  the 
Rev.  C.   H.   Spurgeon.     i8mo 

THE  PROGRESS  OF  DOCTRINE  IN  THE  NEW 
TESTAMENT.     By  Bernard.      i2mo 1.25 

*D'AUBIGNE'S  REFORMATION  IN  THE  SIX- 
TEENTH  CENTURY.     5  vols,  in  one.     8vo i.oo 

KRUMMACHER'S  SUFFERING  SAVIOUR.     i2mo.   i.co 

MACDUFF'S  SUNSETS  ON  THE  HEBREW 
MOUNTAINS.      i2mo i.oo 

MACDUFF'S  FAMILY  PRAYERS.    i6mo.    Reduced  to  i.oo 

PRIME'S  FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH 
EMPIRE.     Life  of  Goodell.     i2mo i-So 

Dorothy  Cope.  Containing  the  "  Old  Looking-Glass  "  and 
the  "Broken  Looking-Glass."  By  Miss  Charlesworth. 
i2mo 1.50 

5 


The  Claremont  Series.     By  A.  L.  O.  E.     lo  vols.     i6mo. 
In  a  box 8.50 


Eddie  Ellerslie $0.90 

Claremont  Tales 90 

Christian's   Mirror 90 

Crown  of  Success 90 

Christian  Conquests 90 


Christian's  Panoply $0.90 

Cortley  Hall 90 

Idols  in  the  Heart 90 

Needle  and  Rat 90 

Stories  on  Parables 90 


The  Golden  Library,  A.     10  vols.     i6mo 8.50 

The  Golden  Library,  B.     10  vols.     i6mo 8.50 

*THE    OLIVE    LIBRARY.     40  vols.     i6mo.     Wooden 
Case.     Net 25.00 

-*- 

A  MARVEL  OF  CHEAPNESS. 

DR.  HANNA'S  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

Pica  type,  fine  paper,  3  vols.  i2mo,  2182  pp.,  neat  cloth 2.50 

-*- 

New    and   Very    Neat    Editions    of 

MIND    AND  WORDS    OF   JESUS. 

By  Macduff.  Limp,  red  edges,  50  cents.  Gilt  edges,  60  cents. 
Superfine  paper,  red  line  edition,  round  corners,  gilt  edges,  $1.00. 
In  full  calf,  gilt  edges,  $2.50. 

MORNING   AND    NIGHT  WATCHES. 

By  Macduff.  Limp,  red  edges,  50  cents.  Gilt  edges,  60  cents. 
Superfine  paper,  red  line  edition,  round  corners,  gilt  edges,  $1.00. 
In  full  calf,  gilt  edges,  $2.50. 

MIND   AND   WORDS    AND    MORNING  AND  NIGHT 
WATCHES.     In  One  Volume. 

Red  line  edition,  gilt  edges,  $1.50.     Full   calf,  gilt   edges,  $3.50, 

HANNAH   MORE'S   PRIVATE    DEVOTION. 

32mo.     Limp,  red  edges,  50  cents.     Gilt  edges,  60  cents. 

6 


'"    >  '^^ 


'^^.t^- 


»-^^. 


^ 


^dMi 


d'i-. 


1                        Date  Due                         | 

M-s^^^* 

life 

1 

f 

PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

■■^^H 

H^^H 

"PUP 

>*f 


>i:i 


^^' 

*^,^j» 


^^ 


^>«>^- 


^".  \7»^ 


'^'^^r: 


irr-uT*,,.'   -,*"':-',«  V  -■♦ft.' 


■€. 


~K^,*^0^ 


^> 


•,.sf1 


X  ■'^.• 


W       ^: 


".^*  '^* 


^fe* 


»T' 


^(?,=^: 


mm 


